New map shows EU is no broadband utopia

A recently published map of Europe highlights some of the challenges of broadband in Europe. It reviews the main broadband technologies (DSL, VDSL, FTTP, Cable, LTE) and their coverage for over 3,000 urban, semi-rural and rural areas across 31 European countries. The data shows that that the continent varies widely in broadband availability.

While basic DSL is available to over 90 percent of Europeans, much of Ireland, France, Italy, Greece, former Eastern bloc countries, and even parts of Germany don’t have access to high speed Internet of at least 24 Mbps or an LTE service. It is interesting to compare the EU map to the US. Some 95 percent of Americans have access to high speed broadband from multiple networks, and for the mountainous areas of the Sierras, Rockies, and Appalachia, satellite broadband is available (not shown), as it is to 99 percent of Americans. For a comprehensive list, see the report on providers by speed tiers. Furthermore four American carriers are in progress with nationwide LTE networks. This is the envy of Europe.