The survey group and broadband industry insiders Point Topic have been contracted to review European broadband speeds right down to district level. The survey will span all 27 EU member states, and will also include Norway and Iceland. Point Topic plan to contact broadband providers independently of regulators and publish accurate information about the scope of their services across Europe. The survey will cover a range of services that are used by all types of broadband clients.
The contract has been awarded as part of a plan to help meet European broadband upgrade targets by the year 2013. Around 300 communications providers will be included in the survey. The survey will look at the various types of broadband service on offer, the suitability of the current infrastructure for upgrade and the geographical spread of high and low speed areas. The results of the survey are expected to inform the policy decisions taken by EU officials.
As well as undertaking this major project, Point Topic offer a host of other research material on their website for free. You can access statistics and news on innovation and success in the broadband industry.
Interestingly, the UK lags far behind most of Europe in the broadband speed stakes. The EU plans to up broadband speeds to a minimum of 30 megabits per second for citizens of all of the EU member states by 2020, with a best case scenario of 50 per cent of all European households to receive internet.
Connections with 100 megabits per second. In order to achieve this, a thorough survey seems to be necessary. It will be fascinating to see a fuller picture of European broadband services emerging in the next year. Meanwhile, if you’d like to skip ahead and check your own broadband capacity, try an online broadband speed test.
