Brussels, 19/10/2001 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday, the European Commission published a study on the development of broadband Internet access platforms in the EU. According to the study, cable modem and ADSL technology will rapidly become the leading technologies used to access the Internet at high speed. However, it is only a question of transitional solutions, in the sense that, in the more or less long term, it should be overtaken by fibre optic technology.
According to the study, current developments suggest that the take-up of broadband access in EU homes and SMEs will be faster in Member States that: - have the highest level of Internet penetration, in the sense that demand for faster Internet is higher where the Internet is most popular; - have been fastest in liberalising the telecommunications market (local loop), as competition between ADSL providers leads to more attractive price packages; - have the highest degree of cross-platform competition, as roll-out is faster and prices more attractive where cable modem is in direct competition with ADSL. Accessing the Internet over cable television networks using a cable modem or over the traditional copper network using the ADSL technology will rapidly become the most popular ways to get on-line at high speed in the EU, says the study; by 2005, they could together account for more than half of all Internet connections to homes and SMEs.
However, ADSL and cable modem will only be transitional solutions. Indeed, the transmission capacity of cable modem and ADSL will not exceed 2 megabits/second at best for most users, which could prove insufficient for capacity-hungry multimedia applications and content. Fibre optic, on the other hand, provides almost unlimited bandwidth and is therefore a future proof technology. By 2010, fibre optic (to the curb or to the home) could already account for about 30% of all Internet connections to EU homes and SMEs. But there are uncertainties regarding the pace of roll-out of fibre networks due to the high cost. So far, there is no viable business model for fibre optic as customers are unlikely to buy extra velocity just for the sake of it. Ultimately, the study concludes, the development of fibre access will be driven by user demand for Internet applications and contents that exceed the capacity of other Internet access technologies. (For further information, consult the following site: http: //europa.eu.int/information_society/eeurope/news_library/new_documents/ broadband/index_en.htm)