MADRID — Spain is near the bottom of the league in Western Europe in terms of broadband access to the Internet.

But it is one of the leaders in terms of the costs of this service to users, according to a study by consultant Forrester, the Spanish daily El Pais reported.

The study found broadband costs 32 percent more in Spain than in the rest of Europe.

Growth in broadband use between July 2004 and October 2005 came to only 2.5 percent, ahead of only Greece in the 15 member ‘old European Union’.

The average increase in use in the 15 EU countries, plus Switzerland and Norway, was 75 percent, largely due to price cuts averaging 35 percent.

According to figures from the Spanish telecommunications market regulator CMT, there were 4.1 million broadband ADSL lines in Spain by February this year.

The Forrester study linked the low usage of broadband to high prices.

Price cuts in other countries have encouraged users to switch from dial-up Internet connections to broadband, said Lars Godell, who wrote the study.

An ADSL connection in Spain costs on average EUR 34.60, the third highest in the 17 countries including the old EU and Switzerland and Norway.

It is 32 percent above the European average.

Broadband is 435 percent more expensive than a dial-up connection in Spain – the biggest difference in Europe.

The average in Europe is 68 percent.

But Spaniards also proved the least happy with their Internet services, in a separate survey of five European countries conducted by Forrester.

The speed of the service is the main complaint. Spaniards are also more inclined to shift supplier than in any other country.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news