Press & PR

The number of people in Europe connected to the internet has soared to over a quarter of a billion, according to a new European Commission report.

In its annual ICT progress report, it is suggested that more than half the population of EU member states have access to broadband, with 80 per cent of those using broadband connections to connect.

"It is a welcome change of political direction that today, ICT, the main driver of European growth, is being promoted by all 27 EU member states in their national policies," said Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media.

Britain was said to be one of the top performing countries in terms of broadband provision, with 14.5 million people connected in July 2007.

Furthermore, 89 per cent of basic public services found to be fully available online, which was said to be a marked improvement on the 2006 results.

The number of people using VoIP services also increased, with eight per cent of the UK population using broadband phone products.

Vonage's VoIP services offer the opportunity to make savings on telecoms costs. The V-Plan 1 is available for £5.99 per month and includes unlimited UK calls.