The EU has improved to 44 percent of households able to receive gigabit fixed broadband. However, only 26 percent subscribe to services of at least 100 Mbps, the latest Digital Economy and Society Index by the European Commission shows. The 2019 report also shows many countries are still lagging on 5G development and more work needs to be done on improving digital skills.
Fast broadband of at least 30 Mbps was available 86 percent of the EU households in 2019, up from 79 percent two years earlier thanks to the expansion of both VDSL and FTTP coverage. Around 96 percent of households could also access 4G networks, compared to 91 percent in 2017, and the report estimates that mobile broadband penetration passed 100 percent of the population.
One in ten rural households without fixed broadband
Rural coverage remains an issue, with around one in ten households without access to fixed broadband and over four in ten unable to receive at least 30 Mbps. Rural coverage is especially an issue in eastern Europe, in countries such as Poland, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia. These countries also tend to have lower fixed broadband take-up, along with places like Italy and Bulgaria. However, in some places with low rural coverage, there is wireless substitution, like Finland and Italy, the report noted.
In terms of very high-capacity networks, which includes FTTP and Docsis 3.1 networks with gigabit speeds, Malta is doing best with 100 percent of homes covered, followed by Denmark and Luxembourg with over 90 percent. The poorest performers in this respect are Greece (7%), the UK and Cyprus (both at 10%). Austria, Ireland and Czechia are below 30 percent, while Italy is at 30 percent and Germany only 33 percent.
11 countries with no 5G spectrum
The DESI report also includes a 5G readiness indicator, based on the amount of spectrum issued from the three pioneer bands identified by the EU. This shows Germany and Finland furthest along as of March 2020, with 65 percent of the frequencies awarded, while Italy and Hungary were at around 60 percent. In total, 17 countries in the EU had awarded spectrum for 5G, meaning several may struggle to meet end-2020 target dates.
Connectivity is just one of five elements in the annual DESI comparing EU countries. The other indicators are human capital, use of internet, digital technology integration at businesses and e-government services. Finland, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands are the leaders in overall digital performance in the EU, with the highest scores in the composite index, followed closely by Malta, Ireland and Estonia. Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Italy have the lowest scores on the index.
4 in 10 lack basic digital skills
The Commission noted that the majority of the countries, which are below the EU average in the level of digitisation, have not progressed significantly in the last five years. In particular, a large part of the EU population (42%) still lack basic digital skills, even though most jobs require such skills. A majority of businesses recruiting IT specialists said they encounter problems finding suitable candidates.
The coronavirus pandemic has underlined the importance of digital skills for people as well as businesses, the Commission noted. The DESI figures will be used to help decide how to allocate the economic recovery fund agreed by the EU members in May, in order to correct some of the shortfalls in certain countries.
