Brussels, 25/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - European Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes has turned up the volume over Europe's lagging behind on 4G connection. She says: “I am on the side of the citizens, the taxpayers, the voters, who just want their phones and tablets to work”.
On Thursday 25 July, the Commission announced that, in Europe, three member states - Cyprus, Ireland and Malta - do not have access to 4G unlike Germany, Estonia and Sweden which are the most developed countries in this respect. Furthermore, generally speaking in rural areas there is no 4G access at all, whereas in the United States 90% of people have 4G access. Consequently, Europe accounts for no more than 5% of all 4G connections and subscriptions worldwide.
On the basis of these figures, Commissioner Kroes deplores the fact that “This is no way to run an economy. It means also that Europeans living in rural areas and those on holiday get treated like second-class citizens”. “It doesn't matter where you are, you pay money for a device and mobile subscription and it should work”, she stressed.
It is Kroes' opinion that the problem is growing worse. She said: “Global mobile traffic is predicted to grow 66% a year; smart devices are everywhere and people want to watch video on those devices”. And yet, it is apparently not the fault of the EU but rather of member states that are experiencing problems in the allocation of frequencies, thus incurring delays. Users suffer and have to pay the cost of market fragmentation, mainly because the economic health of operators is weakened. The Commission is seeking to play a role in resolving this vicious circle and has organised a consultation on greater coordination for granting licences for spectrum use. It is also beginning to control the authorisation of using harmonised frequency bands adapted to 4G (870 MHz). (MD/transl.jl)