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The continuous increases in accessibility and subscriptions in the area of internet broadband are a clear proof that government’s policy of making this sector accessible to all is achieving its desired goals, Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea said recently when launching the National Broadband strategy.
Also present was Investment, Industry and IT Minister Austin Gatt, who said that in developing its broadband strategy the Maltese Government is seeking to continue to adhere to the key principles that it is using in respect to all the aspects related to the development of the Information Society. Government’s insistence on increasing broadband take-up is already bearing its fruit with a substantial increase in broadband subscribers. In fact in Malta there are now over 32,000 broadband connections which is equivalent to 8 per cent of the population. The declared aim of Government is that by the end of 2006 this goes up to 60 per cent.
Minister Galea said that, “With a state of the art telecommunications sector in place, Malta within the EU has an added value to actively compete even more within the business sector and thus fostering further prosperity and socio-economic stability. Malta is confident that it can play a more active role in the evolving global political economy in the years to come”.
“This is what the Communications Ministry has been doing, and precisely what it continues to pursue in the future. Malta’s internet take-up enhances even more Malta’s competitiveness within all fields,” Mr Galea added.
Minister Gatt stressed that the Ministry for Investment, Industry and Information Technology has embarked on a series of initiatives under it’s Hello IT program to reduce the cost and as such increase the penetration of broadband internet. The ‘Breeze’ (pay-per-use ADSL) initiative led to increase of 2,000 broadband users, in just two months.
The Internet has revolutionized the telecommunications sector in Malta. Internet subscriptions have multiplied and it is now calculated that over 75 per cent of the population have access (at home or otherwise) to this means of communication. Our next challenge will be to continue improving access to the Internet by making broadband more accessible and affordable.
As highlighted in the recent Commission communication on the situation in the Electronic communications sector in the EU, the effective use of information and communication technology is the key for improved competitiveness and productivity growth in Europe. Therefore the electronic communications sector has a strategic role to play in delivering the high speed infrastructure (broadband) and innovative services that will allow the wider economy and society as a whole to realise the benefits of the Information Society.
National Broad Band Strategy overview
The advent of broadband technology has led a number of countries to draft a national strategy which seeks to address the multiple factors which come into play for the deployment of the technology on a national scale reaching the maximum number of residential and commercial users possible.
Malta’s progress in attaining an information society and economy together with its accession to the EU, has led to the drafting of a broadband strategy which sets the parameters for the various initiatives which will be coordinated by Government, and the private sector.
A list of drivers which will increase broadband take-up in Malta are presented in the document. Similarly a list of barriers which inhibit further proliferation are also listed. The broadband model brings together a number of variables and stakeholders. which together set the framework for the broadband strategy.
The model leads to a number of strategic objectives and action lines. Focusing on both the demand side and supply side of the broadband issue, the strategy identifies key deliverables leading to an increased usage of broadband technology, which results in an improved quality of life for citizens and an increase in the economic activity of the country.
Implementing the strategy involves the active participation of a number of leading stakeholders from the public and private sector who have to assume a number of defined roles which lead towards the same objective. A sub-committee will monitor the attainment of the strategy goals while the results emanating from the actions undertaken will be benchmarked against a number of pre -defined key performance indicators.
This strategy is the outcome of a concerted joint effort between the Ministry for IT and Investment and the Malta Communications Authority. The two public entities spearhead the rapid development of the information society in Malta.
Malta’s achievements in its progress towards an information society were measured against a set of pre-defined performance indicators. These indicators, which formed the basis of periodic benchmarking exercises. measured the progress of the respective countries with that of the average of the EU Member States.
Malta’s performance was among the best of the countries participating in eEurope+ and in some instances the EU average was also surpassed. This was evident in the two eEurope+ progress reports which were issued.
The report identifies the continued effort in increasing the ICT accessibility through the deployment of a number of web phones and Internet centres at Local Councils. These two initiatives coupled with the provision of ICT awareness courses to citizens has increased technology accessibility not only at hardware level but at competency level where members of the community were taught how to master the Internet and its related technologies.
The fundamentals of an information society and economy have long started to become a reality in Malta. The take-up of different technologies by the local population has been relatively encouraging with a rather slow take-up at the launch phase of such technologies but quickly catching up with the developed countries as the same technologies were embedded in the daily lives of people and production process of the industrial field.
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