Malta among leaders in broadband penetration

Malta ranks among the top 10 leading countries in terms of broadband penetration, according to a global study of broadband quality, well ahead of countries such as the US, the UK, Germany and Italy.

The ranking places Malta second overall, behind Cyprus as the country with the largest increase in broadband penetration to the household from 2008. This significant leap of 23 per cent to 89 per cent in terms of broadband penetration on a per household basis means that the absolute majority of households in Malta have access to broadband internet.

The Cisco-sponsored survey, which considered 66 countries in Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, ranked Malta 11th in terms of broadband leadership, up from last year's 25th place, anchoring it among countries with innovation economies.

This year, the study introduced a measure for digital divide, gauging how available and affordable broadband connectivity is for all citizens. Malta placed fourth, well ahead of leading European states like Denmark and the UK.

The study also developed a quality metric - the Broadband Quality Score (BQS) - which takes into account the upload speeds, download speeds and latency. A higher BQS figure for a country indicates that the broadband services to which households are subscribed have high specifications. Malta's score is a few points less than the BQS of 30, which is proposed as the limit above which the country is said to have broadband connections that can handle today's internet requirements.

The significant progress of broadband services in Malta over the past years was also reflected in the study's results. To date, the challenge has been to make broadband affordable to all and to ensure that the less privileged members of society do not get left behind.

The significant leap in broadband penetration is attributed to initiatives by the government and the Malta Communications Authority (MCA). One is Project Blueskies, which was intended to provide a broadband connection to households with no internet or those still using dial-up connections. Significant price decreases, increases in internet speeds and offers launched by broadband providers also contributed to this advancement.

While these developments have brought about increased benefits for consumers, there is still considerable room for improvement in terms of quality of service.

Improving the quality of service is high on the national agenda. Investment in network upgrades is ongoing. Multiple international links are a key contributor to improved quality of service and, since last year, two new international submarine cables were launched by local communications providers.

Under the 'Smart Island' strategy, the government is committed to fostering further investment by the operators in the communications infrastructure, particularly in international connectivity and next-generation networks. These efforts are also complemented by a proactive approach to spectrum management that enabled new technologies to be introduced on the island, which have further increased choices available to the consumer.

The MCA has also considered quality from various aspects. Some aspects, such as continuity of service, are not necessarily captured in the study but are equally important. The MCA is fully committed to ensuring that the quality of the broadband service is improved and new projects are in the pipeline for next year.

In this respect, the aim is to help define and measure broadband service to the benefit of both consumers and service providers. The MCA is currently in the process of establishing the parameters and methodology that will be used to measure the quality of local broadband service with a view to undertaking regular surveys of the services on offer. The data that is collected will also support the MCA in overseeing that broadband services continue to develop in line with future web application requirements.

Philip Micallef is executive chairman of the Malta Communications Authority