The European Commission is considering making broadband access available to everyone in the European Union. Current statistics suggest that around 36 percent of household in the EU have high-speed internet access.

When the majority of EU citizens are using a telecoms service, EC rules dictate that it becomes one every European should be able to enjoy.

Viviane Reding, EU Telecoms Commissioner said in a statement: “High-speed internet is the passport to the Information Society and an essential condition for economic growth,

“This is why it is this Commission’s policy to make broadband internet for all Europeans happen by 2010.”

The EC’s Universal Service Obligations (USO) is demanding that all citizens who want them should be able to get access to basic telephone services.

It covers the production of a phone directory, payphones, and specific measures for people with disabilities or those on low incomes and fixed phone access for local, national and international voice calls.

These obligations also include a clause demanding that the fixed line be of sufficient quality to “permit functional internet access”. In the UK, this has been interpreted to mean a line that can support a dial-up speed of 28.8 kilobits per second.

The USO is reviewed by the EC every three years and in the report it said that broadband was growing at a pace that means more Europeans were using it than not.

EC figures suggest that from 2003-2007 broadband use in member nations tripled to 36 percent of households and had an annual growth rate of 20 percent, however, the EC said there were “striking gaps” among member’s states and the coverage their citizens enjoyed.

Denmark, Luxembourg and Belgium allow 100 percent of its population access to broadband, but Romanians have around 60 percent availability. In Germany and Italy about 12% of the population is not covered by high-speed access.

The review aims to find out if the USO need to be re-written to force telecoms firms to extend broadband to those areas competition will leave bereft of it. The review will also find out whether dial-up access is sufficient to “permit functional internet access”.