The 27,367 new broadband lines in Malta were among the over 17 million installed in the EU during that time.
With 6.7 new lines installed per 100 inhabitants, the Maltese increase in connections is the highest in the EU. Malta is followed by Germany with 5.1 and Cyprus with 4.9 lines per 100 inhabitants.
The lowest increase was in Finland (1.9 per 100 inhabitants) and Portugal (1.0 per 100 inhabitants). Broadband penetration in Europe continues to grow, from 18.2 per cent in July 2007 to up to 21.7 per cent in July 2008.
At 20.6 per cent, Malta’s broadband penetration was just below the EU-wide average of 21.7 per cent in July 2008. The EU average grew by 3.5 per cent in 12 months.
Denmark has the greatest broadband penetration rate in the EU, with 37.4 per cent. They are followed by The Netherlands, Sweden and Finland, the only four countries with a rate over 30 per cent.
Nine EU countries (Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Belgium, France, and Germany) are above the United States, which stands at 25 per cent according to OECD’s June 2008 statistics.
With 93.1 per cent of connections reaching speeds of 2 Mbps and above, Malta also has one of the fastest broadband services in the EU. Only Portugal, with 94.9 per cent, surpasses Malta in this statistic, while the EU average is just 74.8 per cent. At 9.2 per cent, the local percentage of connections above 10 Mbps, however, remains below the 12.8 per cent EU average.
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Quelle/Source: The Malta Independent Online, 30.11.2008
