Half of EU Homes Can Buy 30 Mbps or Faster Internet Access

About half of all European Union households can buy high-speed Internet access of at least 30 Mbps, a study conducted by Point Topic and commissioned for the European Union, finds.

The study also estimated that 95.7 percent of EU homes can buy service of at least two Mbps.

As you would expect, rural areas are much less likely to have the ability to buy access of at least 30 Mbps. About 78 percent of rural EU homes have access to standard broadband at two Mbps but only 12 percent have access of at least 30 Mbps.

Digital subscriber line (DSL) networks reach about 92 percent of households. Cable modem service reaches 42 percent of homes.  Fixed wireless (WiMAX) has reach of under 15 percent.

Docsis 3, generally capable of providing 30 Mbps service, reaches 37 percent of homes.  VDSL, which is included in the DSL figures, is available for purchase by 21 percent of homes, while fiber to the home is available to 12 percent of homes. 

That means the EU is about half way--the easiest half--toward having all homes able to purchase 30 Mbps service by 2020.