The European Commission wants to raise broadband Internet penetration in the European Union to 30 per cent in 2010 from 20 per cent today in an effort to drive economic growth, its top telecoms regulator said today.
Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding said only eight of the bloc's 27 member states were ahead of the United States in broadband use, with Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Sweden world leaders with nearly a third of homes hooked up.
"These EU countries, together with the United Kingdom, Belgium, Luxembourg and France, all had broadband penetration rates higher than the United States in July 2007," Ms Reding said in her annual update on competition in telecoms markets.
Broadband use in Europe reached 20 per cent overall, still lagging the 22.1 per cent in the United States.
Ms Reding said she wants broadband penetration to hit 30 per cent by 2010 and that her proposed reforms of the telecoms market would help the bloc reach this target.
The EU's 300 billion euro ($470 billion) telecoms market grew 1.9 percent last year when it saw investment up for a fifth year running, which showed EU telecoms rules were having an impact on boosting competition, Ms Reding said.