European broadband speeds improve

Broadband speeds and take-up increased across Europe in the 12 months to July, according to an official report.

Research carried out for the European Commission shows 29 per cent of broadband connections in its member states had download rates of at least ten Mbps during the summer, an increase of 14 percentage points compared with a year earlier.

Meanwhile, there were 25.6 high-speed internet subscriptions for every 100 citizens of the European Union (EU), up from 23.9 in July 2009.

Overall, there were 128 million fixed broadband lines operating within the bloc. This represented a rise of nine million on the previous summer.

Commission vice-president for the digital agenda Neelie Kroes said: "Fast broadband is digital oxygen, essential for Europe's prosperity and wellbeing."

However, she said the 27 members of the EU must do more to ensure the bloc meets its medium and long-term access targets.

By 2013, every European should be able to use basic broadband.

The EU has committed to make fast and ultra-fast connections available to all citizens by 2020.