Malta still to catch up in quality, price of broadband

A new study by the European Commission shows that Malta's broadband penetration rate is slightly below the EU average and it needs to catch up in quality and price.

According to the new Broadband Performance Index (BPI) compiled by the Commission comparing competition, coverage, speed and quality of internet access across Europe, Malta was placed in the fourth cluster of member states out of six, together with Luxembourg, Slovenia, Portugal, Italy and the Czech Republic. The best-rated member states are Sweden and the Netherlands, while Bulgaria and Cyprus are the lowest ranked.

The study shows that by last January, Malta's broadband penetration rate reached 16.9 per cent of the population, only three percentage points lower than the average in the EU.

Although this is much better than most of the new member states, Malta is under-performing in other sectors connected to the internet revolution.

According to the index, Malta "features a weaker socio-economic context, in particular for ICT expenditure and skills, with limited use of advanced services - due in particular to trust-related indicators - as well as relatively high prices and limited speeds."

According to Commission officials, one of the main problems is that many users are still using very low speeds and that Malta lacks IT skills while PC penetration is still among the lowest in the EU. The lack of competition is having an effect in terms of broadband penetration.

Sweden and the Netherlands are clear leaders in the EU, thanks to a competition-friendly environment and skilled citizens and businesses that can use advanced services.

On the other hand, the report shows that poor competition may hold back investment in advanced technologies and result in high prices.

A lack of digital skills, limited PC penetration and a poor spending in ICT appear to be barriers to further development.

Launching a public consultation on the future developments in internet use, Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding said Europe could take the lead in the next generation of the internet.

The Commission outlined the main steps that Europe has to take to respond to the next wave of the information revolution that will intensify in the coming years due to social networking, the decisive shift to online business services, nomadic services based on GPS and mobile TV and the growth of smart tags.