Seven European nations in Top Ten broadband connectivity league

The latest "State of the Internet" report from Akamai Technologies, for Q2, 2010, shows that average fixed-line broadband connection speeds in Europe are on the up-and-up - but not in Sweden, Martyn Warwick reports.

Seven European nations make it into Akamai's Global Top Ten led, intriguingly enough, by Romania. Also in there are Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Latvia, the Netherlands and Sweden. As at the end of Q2 this year Romania boasted an average broadband connection speed of 6.8 Mbps putting Britain to shame and confirming its place as a broadband access also-ran. Elsewhere, average connection speeds in the Netherlands rose by 22 per cent year-on-year to 6.5 Mbps. Meanwhile average connectivity speed in Belgium grew by 11 per cent year-on-year to 5.3 Mbps. However, and for the third quarter in succession, average broadband connection speeds in Sweden actually fell back, declining by 11 per cent to 5.5 Mbps. Overall though, those countries with what Akamai designates as "high broadband" adoption rates (and by that the company means in excess of 5 Mbps), continue to develop their access speeds and availability.