The European Commission’s Eurobarometer shows that 82 percent of Portuguese people do not have access to the Internet at home, against an average of 59 percent in the EU. The same document, which supports the revision of the Community policy for Electronic Communications, also reveals that 71 percent of Portuguese people with Internet already have a broadband connection, against the 26 percent that remain in the narrow band.
Fifty-four percent have at least one telephone connection (fixed or mobile) and / or Internet at home, compared to a European average of 78 percent, although Portugal has one of the lowest European penetration rates in fixed telephony.
With regard to the penetration of PCs in the home, the numbers also leave us below the European average. Twenty-seven percent of the Portuguese have a desktop computer, but only one percent have a laptop. Sixty-six percent have no PC at all, compared to a European average of 48 percent.
With regard to telephone communications, 39 per cent of the Portuguese have mobile phones and landlines, but there are 38 per cent who have only a mobile phone and 9 per cent who do not use either technology.
One in four European houses are connected to broadband
The conclusions stand out in the study released today by the European Commission, which concludes that one in four European houses are connected to broadband Internet. Penetration is most intense in households with larger households, at a rate of 34 percent for families with four or more members and 12 percent in households where only one person resides.
The same study shows that among Internet users who still opt for narrowband, almost half (40 percent) intend to continue as they are and do not plan to change their bandwidth, since the tasks performed on the network do not justify this migration.
The document reveals that young people increasingly use only the mobile phone at home, giving up a fixed connection, as evidenced by 58 percent of respondents aged between 15 and 29 who live alone.
However, in general terms, the study shows that 61 percent of Europeans maintain a fixed and a mobile connection and that only 18 percent opt ​​for the exclusivity of the mobile phone.
Among the main advantages of mobile technology are its ability to make the individual always contactable, as well as the freedom to make calls anywhere. Advantages recognized by 34 and 19 percent of respondents, respectively.
In Internet connections, the use of antivirus solutions is increasingly mandatory, as shown by 82 percent of respondents. Anti-spam solutions are less common although they are also a reality for more than half of respondents, 58 percent.
Mobile penetration rate reaches 80 percent in the EU
In terms of penetration, the mobile phone wins over other forms of electronic communication with a user rate of around 80 percent. The second most used technology by Europeans is fixed technology with a penetration rate of 78 percent. The combined use of both technologies results in a penetration of 61 percent.
On the Internet the numbers are more timid. Only 23 percent of Europeans have broadband, of which 19 percent use DSL and 4 percent prefer cable.
The study was carried out between 7 December and 11 January 2006 and is based on 25 thousand interviews carried out in the 25 Member States, one thousand in each country.
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