European broadband access up 136% in last 13 months, report.

EUROPEMEDIA-(C)2003 Van Dusseldorp & Partners - http://www.vandusseldorp.com/

The number of European surfers using high-speed internet services grew by 136 per cent in the 13 months from April 2002 to April 2003, according to the latest research from Nielsen//NetRatings.

In the US 35 per cent of the population surf the web using a broadband connection, but this figure is dwarfed by some of the Asia Pacific markets, with 82 per cent of Hong Kong's internet population connected via broadband.

Penetration rates for individual countries show that some European markets have already overtaken the US in terms of broadband take-up, notably in France and Spain. However the UK, Germany, and Italy - Europe's three largest single Internet markets in terms of population penetration - are still lagging behind despite their recent rapid growth on broadband uptake.

"What these figures show is that the countries with the highest broadband take-up are those that are also growing rapidly in terms of online use in general", commented European Market Analyst Tom Ewing. "The countries where the internet penetration is greatest and has been longer established, like the UK and Germany, have become used to dial-up connections, and broadband is being sold as an upgrade. But in France and Spain users have leapfrogged the technology and first-time internet surfers are getting connected via broadband, by-passing the slower dial-up completely."

Nielsen//NetRatings believe that this 'broadband boom' is significantly altering the way users behave online. Across Europe, broadband users are spending significantly more time online, using the web more often, and visiting more websites, than their slower, dial-up counterparts. In Germany, for instance, narrowband users spend on average seven and a half hours on the web every month, whereas for broadband users this increases to 21 hours.

The sites that draw the majority of their audience from broadband surfers include file-sharing sites, music sites, film sites and adult sites. The adult entertainment sector has increased its reach year-on-year in all European markets except Italy, where - not coincidentally - broadband access is the relative lowest in Europe.

If current growth rates continue, then by March 2004 over 50m Europeans will be connected at high speed, and the USA will have only 3m broadband surfers more.((Distributed via M2 Communications Ltd - http://www.m2.com))