Ict, e-business and Small and Medium Enterprises

Figure 10.  Broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants, June 2003 

0

5

10

15

20

25

Ko

rea

Ca

na

da   

  

Ice

la

nd

   

  

D

enm

ar

k     

Be

lg

iu

m

    

 

N

et

he

rla

nd

s  

   

Swi

tz

er

la

nd

   

  

Ja

pa

n

Swe

de

n    

 

Un

ite

d St

ate

s 

   

Fi

nla

nd

     

Au

st

ria    

 

No

rwa

y 

   

 

O

EC

D

Fra

nc

e   

  

EU

G

erm

an

y  

   

Sp

ai

n  

   

U

nit

ed 

Ki

ngd

om 

   

Po

rtu

ga

l     

Ita

ly  

   

Au

st

ra

lia 

    

Lux

em

bo

ur

g    

 

Ne

w

 Zea

la

nd   

 

Hu

ng

ar

y  

   

Ire

la

nd

   

  

Pol

an

d 

    

Cz

ec

h Re

pu

bl

ic

    

M

ex

ic

o    

 

Tu

rk

ey  

   

G

re

ec

e    

 

Sl

ov

ak

 R

epu

blic

Other

Cable

DSL

 

Source: OECD, 2004. 

Figure 11. Business use of the Internet via broadband connection (xDSL) by firm size, 2001 

Percentage of businesses with ten or more employees using the Internet 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Finland

Italy

Austria

Spain

Portugal

United

Kingdom

Luxembourg

Greece

%

10-49

50-249

250+

10+

 

Source: OECD, ICT database and Eurostat, E-Commerce Pilot Survey 2001, August 2002. 

Increased competition in the telecommunications industry has been driving down access costs. 

For example, prices of leased lines, which provide the infrastructure for B2B e-commerce, have fallen 

significantly in recent years, following widespread liberalisation in the communications sector in Europe 

(Figure 12). However, large price differences remain. The Nordic countries have the lowest charges, at 

---

 

 

 25 

about one-quarter the OECD average. Elsewhere, the least expensive countries are Switzerland, 

Luxembourg, Ireland, Germany and the United States. At the other end of the spectrum, the Czech and 

Slovak Republics have charges that are at least twice the OECD average (OECD, 2002c).  

Internet access prices are a key determinant of Internet and e-commerce use by individuals and 

businesses (Figure 13). Countries with lower access costs typically have a greater number of Internet hosts, 

and electronic commerce has developed rapidly in countries with unmetered (flat-rate) access (OECD, 

2001a). Unmetered access was available from the leading telecommunication carrier in 12 OECD countries 

by the beginning of 2001 and has increased the amount of time users spend on line. A leading ISP in the 

United Kingdom reported that average usage per subscriber doubled to 22 hours a month following the 

introduction of a flat rate in 2000. AOL in the United States, where flat rates have been available for a 

longer period, reported more on-line time per subscriber, around 40 hours a month.