Malta to improve its global ICT standing

Malta has announced plans to improve its information and communications technology (ICT) to make it one of the top ten countries in the world for computer infrastructure.

The country has seen an increase in internet penetration, with a year-on-year rise of 14 per cent in the number of people installing broadband services during the first quarter of this year, while the number of narrowband subscriptions fell by more than 60 per cent over the same period, reports the Malta Independent.

Switching from narrowband to broadband services could help Maltese citizens download web content faster and enable VoIP hardware to operate more smoothly.

According to the paper, finance parliamentary secretary Jason Azzopardi told the European Group for Public Administration: "Out of every 100 persons in the population, 25 have an internet subscription. This places Malta in the 11th place in Europe, up five places since last year. There also is virtually complete DSL and cable modem networks coverage."

The UK remains one of the only countries in the hold to be working towards a universal connectivity policy.