Europeans want more mobile bandwidth, worry about cost

Consumers across the European Union are increasingly eager for new technologies but while Europeans are open to new tools and services, as illustrated by the figures for new internet subscriptions and internet-based voice calls, they still think twice before picking up the phone or going online because of the cost.

Mobile phones are now everywhere, but only half are "smart", according to the latest EU-wide survey. Subscriptions for phones that include internet access range from 55% in Sweden, Denmark, the UK, Finland, France and the Netherlands to below 35% in Belgium, Greece, Hungary, Cyprus, Romania, Bulgaria and Portugal.

This lower penetration of smart phones is a feature in many countries where mobile Internet access subscribers limit time spent online because they are concerned about the charges – Hungary (35%), Portugal (58%), Greece (53%), Cyprus (52%), Belgium, (47%) and Romania (45%).

Worries about the cost are currently leading more than half of EU citizens to limit calls from their mobile to national (55%) and international numbers (54%).

Broadband access at home is the reality for 3/4 of households, since 72.5% of EU households now have a broadband connection, up from 67.3% in 2011.

Furthermore, web-based calls are extremely popular in Bulgaria (57%), Cyprus (55%), Estonia (54%), Lithuania and Latvia (51%).

The increase in VOIP use seems to track the growth in broadband; for example, in Cyprus, there were 11% more connected households in 2012 and VOIP use grew by 16 points.

"Ensuring consumers` expectations can be met at an affordable price is one of the aims of the Connected Continent package, which will be presented by the Commission in September," Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission for the Digital Agenda, has said.