Brussels, 07/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 6 July, the European Parliament adopted the own-initiative report by Niki Tzavela (EFD, Greece) on broadband (“European Broadband: investing in digitally driven growth”). This report stresses the fundamental importance of investments in broadband networks for competitiveness and employment in Europe, particularly the isolated regions, and proposes easier access to the internet for the disabled and elderly. “The telecommunications sector offers a rich deposit of quality jobs. In these times of crisis and rising unemployment, we must grasp these opportunities”, commented Catherine Trautmann (S&D, France), a member of the ITRE committee.
Criticising the situations of inequality in terms of broadband availability from one member state to the next, Tzavela nonetheless states that 100% cover for basic broadband for all (2 Mb per second) by 2013, in all 27 member states is achievable, with a view to moving to high-speed broadband (30 Mbps) for all by 2020 and possibly even a speed of 100 Mbps for half of all European households. According to the report, between €40 and 60 billion will be needed to achieve the 30Mbps full coverage by 2020 and between €70 and 180 billion to provide half of EU households with 100Mbps service. The investments needed to set in place new-generation ICT networks will largely come from the market, but member states should help with financing open infrastructure which is unlikely to be done by commercial providers within a reasonable timescale, the report stresses. Public funds and a targeted use of European funds will top up these efforts, especially when connecting hospitals, schools and other public buildings in isolated, sparsely populated or outlying areas. In this regard, the MEPs call on the European Commission to review state aid guidelines on broadband networks. The Parliament also suggests making use of innovative financing instruments to remedy the investment deficit and, to this end, supports the creation of a system of Union “project bonds” to fund projects implemented in collaboration with the EIB and guaranteed by the EU budget.
Additionally, the report calls on the Commission and the member states to take account of the specific needs of the disabled and elderly and to facilitate access to the internet for these categories of citizens. Training and public access to broadband, alongside grants to purchase services and equipment, are an interesting solution. In view of the growing demand for knowledge of new technologies by the employment market, the MEPs are also calling for the national education systems to take greater account of this perspective and provide training for the people with the fewest skills of this kind, as part of life-long learning. Investments in physical infrastructure will be successful only if they are accompanied by investments in human capital and the creation of innovative new services, state the MEPs. Lastly, the Parliament supports initiatives to develop online health. The population is growing older and services of this kind should become accessible everywhere, for everybody and at all times. (I.L./transl.fl)