Spain’s broadband quadruples
November 27, 2007
From David Del Valle in Madrid
The broadband market is growing strongly with plans to reach 8.2 million broadband Internet lines by the end of the year, a penetration rate of 18.4 per cent, against 2.1 million connections back in 2003. Approximately 57 per cent of households in Spain are expected to have broadband services by the end of the year, up from 33 per cent two years ago.
The Government plans to extend broadband to 100 per cent of the population by the end of 2008 and reverse the present situation whereby the country has the lowest broadband penetration in Europe. To this end it is investing more than E1.44 billion this year and E1.8 billion in 2008 within its “Plan Avanza” to boost the development of the Information Society.
Today, most of the broadband connections in Spain, 6 million, are made through DSL technology; there are other 1.6 million through cable modem. Telefónica is the market leader with more than 4.3 million broadband clients.