ICTlogy

Abstract:

In June 2005, the European Commission set out a new strategic framework for the Information Society, i2010 - a European Information Society for growth and employment. The Information Society Benchmarking Report 2005 report provides the first overview of the state of the Information Society since i2010 was adopted and a check on progress since the launch of eEurope 2005 in 2003. It also provides the first analysis of the Information Society in the Member States that joined the EU in 2004.

This report is largely based on the 2004 surveys of Households and Enterprises that were developed by Eurostat and the National Statistical Institutes of the EU Member States. These surveys are supplemented by more recent data, for example, the e-Business Watch survey of 2005 and broadband subscriber data from July 2005 and independent studies to make up a comprehensive review of Information Society themes. The report covers the whole EU25 Member States plus the candidate and EEA countries.

The report comprises of three parts: Section 1 of the report looks at connectivity and the roll-out of new networks, including broadband infrastructure. Section 2 focuses on the objectives of eEurope and its contribution to the Lisbon strategy by the creation of new private sector services through e-business and modern online public services. In line with the continuity of interest in e-Inclusion in both i2010 and eEurope, Section 3 contains an analysis of some eEurope indicators broken down by socioeconomic categories.