Drive to increase use of broadband

The government has embarked on a drive to encourage more people to use broadband internet connections.

Malta will be supplied with the necessary international connectivity backbones at equitable prices, a three-year national strategy document on broadband has pledged. Broadband is a technical term that describes a permanent internet connection with high throughput.

The 35-page document was released at a news conference addressed by IT Minister Austin Gatt and Communications Minister Censu Galea, both of whom underlined the importance of broadband to create an IT society and boost the economy.

The government's IT strategy released last year targeted a 60 per cent penetration of broadband connectivity by 2006, up from the existing 40 per cent.

The broadband strategy document was drawn up after interested parties were asked to submit their feedback during a three-week consultation period which ended on May 14 last year.

Among other aspects, it notes that although the price of a personal computer has decreased considerably, it still remains prohibitive. Schemes will, therefore, have to be devised to ensure that such prices will not be a deterrent.

New pricing models need to be devised to encourage more people to shift to broadband. Flexibility in the pricing structures of different broadband services will widen the consumer bracket and attract new users.

The government will seek to make full use of existing infrastructures to offer broadband services and encourage service providers to invest in promoting the use of new technologies.

Between 2004 and 2006, the government will try to foster a culture of fair competition and self-regulation among all major operators in the electronic communication industry.

It will also devise policies that ensure the sustainability of broadband services and encourage service providers to research and develop new innovative services that generate adequate return on investment.

The government will deploy a number of innovative e-services that demand high speed internet access such as e-health and e-learning solutions.

Malta's performance was among the best among the countries participating in eEurope+, the action plan which set a number of objectives for the attainment of an information society and economy.