Media News - Thursday, December 11, 2008

EU considers spending EUR 1bn for satellite broadband technology

The EUR 200bn economic rescue plan being considered this week by European Union leaders includes a proposal to spend EUR 1bn on bringing high-speed Internet access to rural areas. The proposal is likely to pit the Continent's telecommunications operators against satellite companies, which say they are uniquely suited to expand the broadband, or high-speed, network to underserved parts of Eastern Europe and the Alps by the end of 2010. Despite its potential reach, satellite technology has remained little used for broadband compared with cable television and DSL, or digital subscriber line, high-speed connections by telephone. But support for the plan by EU government leaders, who begin a two-day meeting to consider the rescue plan Thursday is not assured. The money would come from unspent funds in the current EU budget, which under EU rules normally revert back to member countries. Germany, which contributes the most to the EU budget and stands to get the largest refund if the project is rejected, opposes the expenditure. The broadband spending was proposed last month by José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, who said linking more Europeans to the Internet would improve economic competitiveness. Across the EU, 21.7 percent of residents had broadband Internet access in July, according to the commission; 107.6 million received service from a telephone DSL line or a cable television connection and 130,592 via satellite. Only 6 percent of EU residents on average received broadband via mobile phones. (International Herald Tribune)

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