Greek internet usage is the lowest in the EU
So I have moved to the country in the EU with the lowest use of the internet, according to some statistics released last week by Eurostat. As someone who relies on the internet to earn their money, that is either a very stupid move or a good business opportunity - time will tell which, I guess.
Only just over a quarter of Greek people have ever used the internet, and less than a fifth of the population use the internet on a weekly basis. 73% of Greeks have never used it, and only 1% of the country has broadband access at home.
The blame for a lot of this is being placed here at the door of the national state-controlled telecoms monopoly OTE. My experience of trying to get a connection set up here didn't do much to counter that theory. Once the paperwork is done it takes twenty days to get a simple phone-line installed, before you can even consider upgrading it to carry ADSL. There are only a handful of broadband operators in the country, and the majority of packages only offer speeds in the 300kb region, at a greater cost than that I was used to in the UK.
Looking at the figures, I'm reflecting that instead of being in the UK and dealing with the 'digital divide' of set-top box have and have-nots, the 'digital divide' here seems to be between Greece and the rest of the EU.
Posted by Martin Belam, April 20, 2006
Read more posts on currybetdotnet about: Greece
The views expressed on currybetdotnet are my own, and do not reflect the views of my current or former employers.
Search
Download e-books
About Martin Belam
I'm a London-based internet consultant and writer, with 8 years experience in product management, information architecture, and user experience design for global brands like Sony, Vodafone, The Guardian and the BBC. I specialise in advising on search, widgets, RSS, online news publishing and bulk email delivery.
Martin Belam CV
email: martin.belam@currybet.net
tel: +44 (0) 7801 828718
twitter: currybet
About Martin Belam and this site
Recent posts
- Taking the 'Ooh' out of Google: Getting site search right - Part 12
- The Financial Times and "the worst online redesign I have ever seen"
- Taking the 'Ooh' out of Google: Getting site search right - Part 11
- Another threat to local newspapers - daily BBC horoscopes by email!
- FIFA 2010 World Cup qualifying website review - Scotland
Recent links
Recent comments
Popular posts
- Protecting the identity of Baby P's killers: The courts vs the people vs the Internet
- Day #2 at Guardian Hack Day
- The BBC News linking policy is simply clumsy, not 'greedy'
- BBC fails the online Brand damage limitation test
- "The Former Scottish Constituency of Northumbria"
- Social media and www.bbc.co.uk
- Take-away facts and quotes from the 2008 Euro IA Summit in Amsterdam - Part 1
- Measuring UK newspaper success with social media
Popular categories
BBC, Doctor Who, Ghost Walks, Media, Music, Newspapers, Search, Social media, Web
Contact: martin dot belam at currybet dot net
©2008 Martin Belam where appropriate. Powered by Movable Type. Hosted by Bytemark.
Manufactured in Great Britain.
2 comments so far
Reminds me of living in South Africa.. it sounds similar! Low speed (compared to UK, elsewhere), high cost + long wait. That's what often happens with a telco monopoly.
Mmmm, and I thought Poland was bad.....