In many areas within Europe watching high definition movies over
the internet or downloading massive files in mere seconds has become a
reality thanks to technology like fiber-optic cables.
But many households are excluded from this data autobahn – the
technology is just not there yet. Members of the Fiber to the Home
Council Europe, which represents companies such as internet service
providers, met in Lisbon on February 25 and requested for European
governments to push towards an implementation of new technologies.
Europe behind Asia and the US
According to Hartwig Tauber, director general of the organization the
continent is lagging behind Asia and the United States.
"Fiber is more than just an infrastructure, it is an enabler for new
services and an enhancer of existing services," said Tauber.
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes
mit der Bildunterschrift: Just
10 years ago surfing the internet with a modem was standard practice
Slower copper wires continue to be standard issue when it comes to
linking most homes and the neighborhood telecommunications network.
Tauber put that down to the fact that most European governments lack
ambition compared with some of their counterparts in Asia, which are
pushing for the installation of connections with hundreds of times as
much capacity.
"That could transform how we use the internet," he added.
Certainly, the call is also about money: Most of the speakers at the
conference represented news or entertainment companies that use the
internet to get their content out to users. However, the main argument
of the organizers for encouraging the spread of fiber-optic connections
is to give a boost to services that carry considerable benefits for the
public, such as distance learning and health care, as well as boosting
telecommuting.
Fiber to the Home Council president Karel Helsen said that in some
countries telecommunications companies have started their own services
in areas such as health and education. Additionally, governments are
using money to stimulate development in the industry.
Lithuania ahead of European standard
But according to the internet businesses the main problem remains the
lack of a clear regulatory framework at the European level. The
European Commission has promised to provide this but further delays in
drafting the regulations seem to have been one reason why the
commissioner responsible did not address the conference, instead sending
a lower-level official.
Despite all this, there has been striking progress in some countries.
Just in the past couple of years, Lithuania has leapfrogged
Scandinavian countries to become the nation with the highest penetration
rate of fiber cables. And in the run-up to the conference, host
Portugal went on a cable-laying spree that resulted in more than two
million homes can now be connected to fiber-optics.
Author: Alison Roberts (hmr)
Editor: Mark Mattox
