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Dr. Pete on Phone vs. Online in Europe
12/04/2011
Dr. Pete
Dear Dr. Pete:
Are there any countries in Europe where you get better population coverage by Internet than you would by phone?
-F. A. Solatido
Dear F. A:
Yes, there are two - Portugal and Finland. In Portugal, 53% of the population has a fixed line phone. The rest have mobile phones only or no phone at all. Of these, 74% are connected to the Internet. Similarly, in Finland, 53% of the population has a fixed line, and 62% are connected to the Internet.
There are also a few countries where this will occur soon - Slovakia, Czech Republic, and the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania). In these countries, the point gap between Internet and fixed line penetration is less than 10%.
It seems like this is a phenomenon driven by the young. It's also something that, with downward pressure on mobile tariffs, is set to grow in the future. One quarter of Europeans say they would give up their fixed line if call costs on mobiles were equivalent.
Cheers!
-Dr. Pete
