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Aug 8, 2006
Eurostat, the statistical office of the
European Commission, has reported the positive impact of broadband penetration
on the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Europe.
According to the group, high broadband
access has allowed SMEs to offer a range of value-added services. In tracking
broadband and Internet usage across EU member states, Eurostat reported that
broadband penetration amongst SMEs rose from 50% in 2004 to 62% in 2005. Nordic
countries in particular score highly here. For example, 80% of Swedish SMEs had
broadband access in 2005, and 95% had some sort of Internet access. In the UK,
the figures were 61% broadband with 88% Internet access overall. For Germany,
the numbers were 57% and 93% respectively.
Eurostat says broadband providers can take
advantage of the SMEs’ need for complete installation and service packages.
SMEs, particularly businesses with less than 10 employees, do not often have
the internal resources to manage complex IT and telecoms systems. Value-added
services providers, such as business-focused ISPs and telcos, can provide a
single source for broadband access and other services, such as security or
remote data back-up, Eurostat explains.
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