30 per cent of rural homes and businesses in Europe without broadband

The European Union is spending €3.5 million on improving broadband availability in rural areas of Euroope. NYnet, a UK-based firm is heavily involved in the project after being set up by North Yorkshire County Council to provide fast broadband internet connections to make sure that local businesses could keep up with those in large cities – where broadband internet is faster.

The EU is concerned that only 70 per cent of rural businesses and homes in Europe have access to broadband internet, which could have a negative impact on European economies as they compete with other economies that have better broadband infrastructures.

To tackle this, the EU launched the B3 scheme in Turin in September, and consists of 17 projects across rural areas of Europe.

At the moment 36 per cent of households in EU member states have broadband connections. Once this reaches 50 per cent, telecoms rules drawn up in Brussels will mean that it will become a service that every European should benefit from.