European Community Communications Picture Not So Different From US

By Gary Kim, Contributing Editor

A new report on communications trends of European community (EC) households suggests that consumers behave similarly both in North America and Europe, though trends between EC countries can vary as much as between rural and urban areas of the United States. 

A quarter of EC households use mobile telephone service only, about 21 percent of the countries that are older members of the EC, and about 46 percent of households in the EC countries that have joined more recently. In the United States, most estimates suggest that 20 to 25 percent of households are "mobile only" for voice service.

Mobile-only access is greatest in the Czech Republic and Finland, where about seven in 10 have mobile access only. Mobile-only access is lowest in Sweden and Malta, where 5 percent or fewer households do not use fixed voice service. 

The primary reason given for not having a fixed telephone line is that a mobile telephone is sufficient for the needs of the household and so there is no reason to have a fixed line as well, the EC report suggests. About a third of respondents state that they simply do not want a fixed telephone line, which has also increased significantly since 2008. 

Almost two-thirds of EC households have a computer. Twelve percent of EC households use narrowband versus 82 percent using broadband to access the Internet. 

According to Nielsen Claritas Convergence (News - Alert), about 81 percent of U.S. homes own at least one PC, while 67 percent of American homes with a PC have access to high-speed Internet service. Around 11 percent of households subscribe to dial-up connection.

The main reason EC narrowband users give for not switching to broadband is that they are satisfied with the speed of their current connection (26 percent). Findings very similar to that have been noted in the United States.

About 15 percent of U.S. non-users surveyed by the Federal Communications Commission say the price of the monthly bill is too much for them. About 10 percent say the cost of a computer is too much. About 9 percent say they do not want a long-term service contract or cannot afford the installation fee. Another two percent cite a combination of these reasons.

Some 22 percent of non-adopters say they are not comfortable with computers or are “worried about all the bad things that can happen if I use the Internet.” 

About 19 percent of non-adopters do not have broadband because they question its relevance to their lives. Specifically, these non-adopters say the Internet is a “waste of time” or are content with dial-up access.

In its own studies of U.K. consumers, Ofcom, the U.K. regulator, has found that more than 42 percent of Internet non-adopters do not use the Internet at home because they either are not interested, or think they do not need it. Non-adopters tend to be older and retired people and 61 percent have never used a computer, Ofcom found.

Cost has decreased as a reason not to switch to broadband, with EC consumers who claim the monthly costs are too high (5 percent) and those who state the installation costs are too high (4 percent) both decreasing significantly since winter 2008

EC Internet users who remain on narrowband, about 7 percent of households do so because they are content with the speed. About 26 percent of dial-up access users appear not to think about the reasons for continuing to use dial-up services. The cost of broadband appears to be less of an obstacle to switching (8 percent), while 16 percent of respondents say broadband is not available where they live.

Though 43 percent of households still do not buy broadband access, the majority of those without access in EC countries claim that it is because no one is interested in the Internet (58 percent).

The EC report suggests that wireless substitution and broadband patterns are quite similar to those found in the United States. The percentage of homes that have abandoned fixed-line voice services is quite similar. Computer ownership is higher in the United States than in the EC countries, while broadband access subscriptions are similar in both regions. 

Some consumers continue to resist using the Internet or switching from dial-up access to broadband, and the percentage of people and reasons for resisting are similar in both regions. Some people just do not see the value of using the Internet or buying broadband. 

(source: http://ipcommunications.tmcnet.com/topics/ip-communications/articles/113263-european-community-communications-picture-not-so-different-from.htm)