Romania among EU countries with highest internet speed for households

Roughly 70% of European households had access to high-speed internet last year, up 16% relative to 2013. Romania ranked 7th in terms of access according to Eurostat data cited by Agerpres.

Rates varied from 100% in Malta, to 20% in Greece.

Also at the top of the ranking were Spain (94%), Latvia (90,7%), Netherlands (90.6%), Portugal (90.5%), Ireland (88.7%) and Romania (87.1%). Meanwhile, Cyprus (41%) and Italy (44%) joined Greece at the bottom.

In addition to coverage, Romania has one of the cheapest high-speed broadband internet connections in the world, at just EUR 8 per month for download speeds of up to 1 Gbps. The biggest local internet providers have offers that start at 300 Mbps for roughly EUR 6.

In 2021, the European Commission adopted the first multiannual work program as the digital component of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF Digital). The latter is meant to support and catalyze both public and private investments in digital connectivity infrastructures between 2021 and 2027. The EU will commit over EUR 1 bln to improve and secure Europe’s digital connectivity infrastructure, including gigabit broadband connections (1,000 Mbps) and 5G networks.

The stated goal is to ensure 5G high-speed internet access for all households located in populated areas by 2030.

(Photo source: Frank Harms | Dreamstime.com)