EN    EN EN 
EN    EN  COMMISSION OF THE E UROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 3.3.2009 
SEC(2009) 254  
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
 
accompanying the COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION  
TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 
Better access for rural areas to modern ICT 
  
{COM(2009)103} 
EN 2   EN 1. INTRODUCTION  
Information and Communication Technology (IC T) has transformed the socio-economic 
environment of the EU over the last decade. Th e internet has become an integral part of 
people's lives, and a tool without which many enterprises could not exist and do business. 
The impact that ICT has on the socio-economic environment, businesses and individuals has 
made it an important policy area for Community, national and regional measures in pursuit of 
Lisbon objectives. The adoption and use of IC T are among the most significant factors 
determining productivity growth, accounting of  40% of Europe's productivity growth and 
25% of EU GDP growth1. 
In recent years, the EU has become the largest market in the world w ith about half of its 
population, estimated at some 250 million people, regularly using the internet. Internet use 
has accelerated particularly over the last two years. At the same time, the public sector has 
been rolling out online public services and adva ncing in the use of ICT to deliver such 
services efficiently in educati on, health and public administration2. 
ICT in general is highly relevant to improving the competitiveness of agriculture and forestry 
and improving quality of life a nd diversification of the rura l economy. High-quality internet 
access is one of the tools which can unlock more of the potential of rura l areas and make them 
more viable places for people to live. ICT he lps existing rural businesses to perform tasks 
more effectively and efficiently and responds to their demand for rapid access to diverse kinds 
of information. It creates greater scope for ne w businesses to start up, and it makes it easier to 
deliver vital resources. Entrepreneurship and eco nomic progress in rural areas could be strong 
if the economic environment is favourable3. 
Despite the progress made in recent years, sign ificant differences sti ll exist between Member 
States (MSs) in terms of broadband coverage and take-up. Gaps in coverage and take-up 
between their rural areas, and between rural and urban areas, are widespread and the pace of 
development differs. It has been estimated that by 2007 only 70% of the EU27 rural 
population was able to subscribe to a broa dband connection as opposed to 98% of the 
population in urban areas. The bulk of the rura l population receives poorer services at higher 
costs. 
The Commission has assigned a ce ntral role to the development of on-line services in the 
eEurope 2005 and i2010 initiatives. The characteris tics of rural areas and the fact that almost 
half of the EU population resides there make them  one of the best environments for taking full 
advantage of the benefits of such on-line serv ices. Clearly rural broadband connectivity will 
have a bearing on the uptake of on-line servi ces (for example, webcasting Council meetings). 
The delivery of these services will require further planning, provision and support for training, 
connectivity and equipment4. 
                                                 
1 COM(2005) 229, 1.6.2005. 
2 The i2010 Agenda — a European Success Story in  the Making, Speech by Commissioner Mrs Viviane 
Reding at the i2010 Conference — Information Society at a Crossroads, Brdo, 13 May 2008. 
3 Tools in the toolbox: ICT and broadband in rural areas, speech by  Commissioner Mrs Mariann Fischer 
Boel at the Conference on Bridging the Broadband Gap: Benefits of broadband for rural areas and less 
developed regions, Brussels, 15 May 2007, SPEECH/07/311. 
4 Study on availability of access to computer ne tworks in rural areas (SAACNRA), page 61. 
EN 3   EN This Annex supplements the joint Communi cation between DG Agriculture and Rural 
Development and DG Informati on Society and Media to th e Council and the European 
Parliament on 'Better access for rural areas to modern ICT' by presentin g in detail the current 
state of ICT development in rural areas, the situation as described by Member States and 
regions in their rural development progr ammes (RDPs) 2007–2013, the way in which rural 
development approaches the prob lem and the actions planned on ICT for rural areas, and last 
but not least the benefits that can be achieved. 
2. THE RURAL -URBAN ICT  GAP 
The rural-urban gap in broadband coverage, internet take-up and growth in use of 
technologies is still huge. The availability of a pplications and quality of service in rural areas 
are also lower. 
This section describes the existing urban-rural gap using the only two da ta sources available 
at EU level, namely the Idate data on br oadband coverage and the Eurostat Community 
Survey on ICT usage in households and by indi viduals. Both data sources use methodologies 
that define “rural” areas in a different way from the one used by Member States and regions in 
their rural development programmes, and also di ffer from the statistical approach used by DG 
AGRI, which is based on the OECD methodology5. Eurostat also defines three types of areas, 
namely thinly populated, intermediate  populated and densely populated areas6. However, for 
the purpose of consistency with the data, we wi ll use the same terminology as that used by 
both sources. 
Although data is limited, from what is available at  EU level it can be seen that there are gaps 
between urban and rural areas, thinly and dens ely populated areas, and th at these gaps cannot 
be ignored and need to be analysed. 
Broadband coverage and take-up7 
The broadband gap can be clearly seen from the data presented in Tables 1 and 2 and 
Figures 1 and 2, showing obvious disadvantages fo r rural areas and the slow development of 
broadband coverage taking place there8. 
In Europe, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) is the dominant platform providing about 80% of 
total broadband lines. At the end of 2007 DSL reached 98% of EU urban areas, but rural 
coverage lagged behind at 70%  (Table 1 and Figure 2). 
                                                 
5 The data provided by DG INFSO is derived from a study carried out by Idate, which uses its own 
definition of rurality. Rural areas are defined as those having less than 100 inhabitants per square km, sub-urban areas have a population density between 100 and 500 inhabitants per square km, and the rest 
are urban areas. This definition is a restricted version of the OECD definition used by DG AGRI and is 
a different from the one adopted by MSs and regions in their RDPs 2007 – 2013. Coverage is measured as the share of total population that can subscribe to a DSL connection. Data for Bulgaria and Romania 
is not available. The purpose of this working document  is to present statistical evidence on the situation 
in the EU as regards broadband coverage and take-up and not to compare different methodologies used 
for defining rural areas. 
6 The Eurostat methodology is based on the degree of urbanisation. 
7 The analysis in this sub-section is based on Idate data. 
8 For the purpose of consistency with previous polic y documents, we will call the “"sub-urban” areas – 
intermediate areas, although the Idate’s methodology defines them more widely than the OECD. 
EN 4   EN In about one third of the EU27 MSs, rural broadband coverage is below 80%. These are 
mostly new Member States such as Slova kia (38.5%), Poland (42.5%), Latvia (65.0%), 
Lithuania (67.5%), Estonia ( 73.0%), the Czech Republic (75.0 %) and Hungary (80.0%), with 
only two old MSs belonging to this group, na mely Greece (50.0%) and Ireland (73.3%). In 
Bulgaria and Romania the situation is even worse, as indicated in Bulgaria’s rural development programme and in Romania’s st ructural operational programme “Increasing 
economic competitiveness”.  
Not only coverage, but also rural take-up is low in the aforementioned countries. Data for 
2007 show that take-up barely reached 3.0% (see  Table 2 and Figure 1), except in the Czech 
Republic where it was 4.8%, still quite a low level. 
Low take-up levels were registered on average in 2007 in the rural areas of the new Member 
States, where the indicator for EU12 was just  2.7% versus 12.8% fo r the EU15 and 10.1% for 
the EU27. Most importantly, these three indicator s for rural areas remain significantly below 
the urban levels, which was 8.6% for the EU 12, 20.7% for the EU15 and about 19.1% for the 
EU27. Intermediate areas (called “sub-urban” by Idate) were close to the urban levels. 
In contrast, six countries have approximately 100% or full DSL coverage in their rural areas 
(Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom; Table 1 and Figures 1 and 2). These are also the countri es where rural take-up is the highest, reaching 
the maximum registered 21.1% in Fr ance and 20.9% in the Netherlands. 
As regards the growth in coverage and take-u p over the last few years, two opposite trends 
can be observed. 
DSL coverage in rural areas has been developing  faster in recent years, but mostly because 
the gap with urban areas has been  substantial and also  because urban covera ge has in several 
countries reached, or is approaching, the level of 100%. The absolute change in rural coverage 
over the period 2005–2007 is particularly high in the cases of Slovenia (58.5%), Greece (50.0%), Italy (37.1%) and Germany (32.5%) as de picted in Figure 3. Sl ovenia has the highest 
growth in coverage of rura l areas over the last three ye ars (216.7%), followed by Italy 
(83.2%), Slovakia (54.2%), Swed en (36.4%) and Ireland (29.7%). Lithuania and Austria have 
also recorded a growth in coverage of about 20% if 2007 is compared to 2005. 
As regards take-up, the position of rural areas is  not that strong. Urban take-up and take-up in 
intermediate areas grew more strongly in 2005–2007 (Table 2 and Figure 4). Except in 
France, Sweden, Italy and the Netherlands, rural take-up is developing sl uggishly. Particularly 
marked are the differences in Ireland (4.3% for rural areas versus 12.3% for urban territories), 
Germany (4.9% versus 11.4%) and Slovenia (4.5% ve rsus 9.9%). Overall, rural take-up is two 
to four times lower than urban take-up. 
It is interesting to note that in the EU27 there were in both rural and intermediate areas about 
19.2 million DSL subscribers in 2005, while in 2007 this number grew by 70.8% to reach 32.8 million subscribers. 
However, due to the different rate of de velopment, the gap between best and worst 
performing regions and countries is widening
9. As regards quality of the service, rural areas 
                                                 
9 COM(2007) 803 final. 
EN 5   EN suffer from low connection speeds10, lower download rates, fewer internet operators and lack 
of choice of competitive platforms (apart from DSL)11. 
Eurostat household ICT survey data 
The Eurostat household survey da ta confirms the situation ou tlined before, although there are 
differences in the methodologies and terminology used between both sources. 
Eurostat data shows that despite the increase in EU25 internet take-up by households over the 
period 2004–2007, the gap between thinly and de nsely populated areas remains the same 
(12-13 points; from 6 and 18% in 2004 respec tively for thinly po pulated and densely 
populated areas to 35 and 48% in  2007, Figure 5). The take-up in  thinly populated areas in 
new Member States compared to densely populated  areas remains much lower than in the old 
MSs, with Italy, Greece, Portuga l and Spain also having difficult ies in ensuring high levels of 
internet usage in thinly populat ed areas (Figure 6). Importan tly, for 11 of the new Member 
States (except Malta) levels are below the EU  average and Bulgaria and Romania are ranked 
last on this criterion. 
3. OBJECTIVE -LED APPROACH IN RURAL ICT DEVELOPMENT : CHALLENGES AND 
DIFFICULTIES12 
Overall, Member States and regions have rec ognised the importance of ICT for business and 
area development in the new programming period. In 65 RDPs (out of 94 in total)13 the 
baseline analysis makes a reference to broadband  and in 37 RDPs there is a specific reference 
in the ex-ante evaluations. Analyses and info rmation confirm the significant differences 
between MSs and regions, and between urban a nd rural areas. Significant disparities exist 
even between regions within a given Member State. 
As regards the ICT situation in rural areas, ab out half of the MSs have recognised the ICT 
situation in rural areas as poor (13 MSs and 16 RDPs), and one quarter of them, accounting 
for half of the programme areas (7 MS s and 44 RDPs), rate it as average. 
Member States and regions that have devel oped sufficient broadband coverage (at least in 
DSL) are now strongly focusing on the developm ent of services for the rural population and 
businesses. At the same time, those that are st ill behind in their infr astructural development 
are targeting both the demand and the supply side. 
ICT development in rural areas: development of services 
Despite reaching full rural coverage of DSL conn ections, several Member States continue to 
invest in ICT mostly for the development of  services for the populat ion and businesses.  
Denmark, for example, is focusing on food-chain development including the use of ICT; 
Finland places future emphasis on developing the supply of servi ces and the availability of 
                                                 
10 COM(2006) 129, 20.3.2006. 
11 SEC(2007) 395 annexed to COM(2007) 146, 30.3.2007. 
12 This section is based on information derived from the rural development progra mmes of Member States 
and regions for the new programming period 2007–2013. 
13 Six rural development programmes are framework and network programmes. They are not counted 
here. 
EN 6   EN connections, while France is targeting the impr ovement of services quality (e-government, 
home e-service, etc.) with additional stress on the benefits of networking.  
More efficient and equitable access for the rura l population to local services (such as through 
e-commerce) is one of Luxembourg’s objectives,  with promotion of village networking and 
on-the-spot training of internet users. In Galic ia (Spain), ICT for rural areas has become one 
of the major objectives and the provision of quality services is  recognised as a challenge. 
Increasing access to the internet and broadband has improved connectivity of rural areas and 
access to services more generally (e.g. in Scotland). 
Sweden is aiming to strengthen the diffusion of knowledge from universities, colleges and the 
research community. Development and compet itiveness is to be supported through the 
development of skills, know-how and lear ning, new technology and resource-efficient 
methods, ICT and new product development. Collaborative models for management and administration will also receive attention. 
ICT development in rural areas: infrastructural challenges 
Progress in developing broadba nd in rural areas is noticeable: from the French overseas 
departments through Spain to Poland, coverage is increasing annually and prerequisites for 
growth and e-inclusion are being laid down. However, efforts are still needed to create equal 
conditions in rural areas compar ed to urban areas, with a numb er of factors determining the 
low levels of ICT indicators  in Europe’s rural areas.  
Broadband coverage in rural areas is partic ularly low because of local geographical 
specificities and the related high costs for maintaining the network infrastructure as recognised, for example, by Lithuania, Poland, Ro mania and Slovakia. In specific cases, there 
are no technical facilities in the rural ar eas for using broadband and having internet 
connection (Lithuania).  
In Finland, the construction of broadband connec tions to villages is still under way (80%) and 
the importance for the Finnish rural areas of  introducing wireless broadband connections 
remains. In France, remote rural areas cannot gain sufficiently from the benefits of the new 
technologies as the concentration of internet providers focuses on and develops in the most 
profitable zones, these mainly being the big cities. However, having access to the internet became a major priority in 2004. 
In Sweden, where ICT is a horiz ontal strategic priority in rural development, internet and 
computer networks are already widely used tool s, given the country's sparsely populated areas 
with long distances. However, internet connections  in rural areas are too slow for all services 
to be able to be implemented functionally. Add itionally, there are still extensive parts of the 
rural areas that lack coverage for mobile communication.  
In Slovakia, the availability of broadband remain s low, particularly in the rugged parts of the 
country that mainly comprise rural settle ments with low population density, while in 
Romania, high costs in rural areas are determined by the l ack of fixed telephony 
infrastructure. In addition, wire less broadband is concentrated  in urban areas. In Poland, 
however, an opposite trend could be observed — many telephone owners have terminated 
their landline subscriptions. This has been induc ed by the competitive offers of mobile service 
providers, apart from the higher costs of having a landline. 
EN 7   EN In Italy, regions often underl ine that the supply of broadba nd connection in mountainous, 
hilly, coastal and inner rural areas is either missing or problematic and more costly. Difficulties in the broadband development of th e hilly and mountainous areas can be seen, for 
example, in Abruzzo, Marche, Campania and Mo lise. Lower development of inner rural areas 
is a feature of Abruzzo, Marche and Liguria , while coastal or peripheral problems are 
discussed, for example, in Marche, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto and Valle d’Aosta. A rural-urban digital divide also exists  in other regions such as Pi emonte, Basilicata and Sardegna. 
Like in other MSs, broadband development and use of the internet in the Italian rural areas is 
hindered by long distances, low population densities, sparsely distributed services, fragile 
business infrastructure, quality of the service, nature of the territory, etc. However, in several 
Italian regions solutions to problems faced by hilly and mountainous areas have been found, such as the provision of satellite and/or wi reless connections (e.g. Trento, Friuli-Venezia 
Giulia). 
Demand for better infrastructure exists also in th e big islands, especially in the areas that are 
far from the residential centres and wher e urbanisation is limited (e.g. Malta).  
ICT development in rural areas: rural uptake 
In most Member States rural take-up is low and far behind urban areas and even in cases 
where coverage is progressing, take-up is no t yet sufficient. This remains one of the 
challenges for the future.  
Often, the ambition to extend broadband in ge neral is hindered in some rural areas by 
insufficient capacity (e.g. Sweden, Schleswig-Hols tein). In these cases, the costs of providing 
and maintaining the connection are higher than the lower user potential. Low incomes continue to be one of the most  important factors holding down in ternet take-up, especially in 
countries which have to catch up ec onomically (e.g. Bulg aria, Slovakia).  
In Romania broadband penetration is about 6 times  higher in urban than in rural areas, like in 
Bulgaria, where internet uptake in the villages ( outside the rural munici pal centres) is also 
extremely low. Comparable to Bulgaria is th e situation in the Baltic countries (Latvia and 
Lithuania), with rural households in Latvia having only half as many computers as urban 
households. 
Like in other parts of the EU, the high degree of dispersal of the population complicates and 
increases the price of the prov ision of infrastructures and basic services, constituting a 
significant deficiency (e.g. Galicia, Spain). This  is confirmed also by the sparsely populated 
rural areas in Slovenia, where internet take-u p is behind that of densely populated areas. 
Nonetheless, in certain rural areas demand over the last years has stead ily grown, such as in 
the case of Northern Ireland. 
ICT development in rural areas: agriculture 
All RDPs confirm the importance of the internet  and ICT for business development and social 
integration. Its importance for the agricultural sector, however, is clearly noted by several 
countries such as Greece, Poland, Cyprus and H ungary. Raising the e-skills of farmers is a 
horizontal objective in all programme areas. 
Specific problems for agriculture are raised in  Toscana (Italy), where 7 out of 10 agricultural 
enterprises do not have a computer and just  one quarter of them use the internet.  
EN 8   EN In Hungary, only 32% of all Hungarian farmers ha d computers and just 28% used the internet 
in 2004. In addition, only 58.7% of agricultural en trepreneurs have access to the internet, far 
below the country's average of 76.2%. In Cypr us, in specific sectors such as organised 
livestock-farming units and modern food in dustries ICT is well placed, but there are 
considerable setbacks in agricultural holdi ngs, which fall far short in this area. 
Based on similar reasoning, Portugal sets obj ectives for raising the use of modern 
technologies in the farm sector, while Finlan d is targeting about 85% of farms having a 
computer by the end of the programming period. 
One good example of how ICT plays an important role for agriculture is given by the Swedish 
RDP, according to which about 80% of agricultur al holdings have access to the internet. Of 
these, one third use the internet daily and another third use it a few times per week. Interestingly, almost a third of Swedish agricu ltural holdings submit their applications for EU 
support online. 
ICT development in rural areas:  non-farm businesses and SMEs 
Poor access to the internet in rural areas is a factor discouraging businesses from entering 
markets and developing activities. Larger enterp rises continue to domin ate the use of modern 
technologies, with micro-enterprises and SMEs in  rural areas in need of better attention. One 
reason for this is that existing entreprene urs have insufficient skills to use modern 
technologies (Latvia).  
In Bulgaria, just a quarter of all rural enterprises have access to a DSL connection, while 
figures for large companies reach almost 100%. The lag in take-up in rural businesses is also evident in the UK, where only one  third of rural businesses (38% ) had for instance, a website 
compared to half of urban businesses (51% ), and only 41% of rural businesses used 
broadband in 2005. Small enterprises also experience difficulties in using modern 
technologies as described by Friuli-Venezia Giulia (IT).  
In the UK, rural businesses adopt ICT significa ntly more slowly than urban ones and this 
holds for all enterprises, no matter their size. The lower adoption is primarily attributed to the 
more limited range and intensity of “influ ences” promoting the use of ICT such as 
advertising. Micro-businesses are particularly disadvantage d. In addition, smaller rural 
businesses are more likely to use low-speed in ternet access, unless assistance is offered. 
Careful selection of ICT activities can ensure that they do add value to existing activities and 
that rural development funds are used effec tively. The UK has identifi ed sustainable rural 
tourism business development as a priority area for actions, like in Austria where development of SMEs which rely on supra-regi onal trade relationships and those involved in 
rural tourism with the aid of the internet is a priority. Enabling the smallest businesses to 
market globally is another priority for the UK, leading also to potential environmental 
benefits by reducing travel needs. 
ICT development in rural areas: state support 
Some Member States have developed meas ures, outside the options provided by the 
Community policies and instrument s, to address existing proble ms. For example, state support 
in Estonia has been launched to provide the population of low density areas with internet 
access under conditions equal to those in high density area (“Village Road 3” state 
programme). 
EN 9   EN Federal support also plays a significant role in certain German regions. For example in 
Saarland, in 2005–2008 a federal programme under th e leadership of a state media institute 
launched a campaign aimed at improving IT skills  and promoting the internet among several 
specific groups, such as elderly people (a bove 50 years old) and people with low job 
qualifications. Women and the rura l population were also targeted. 
Apart from this, in 2008 the Commission appr oved an amendment to the German national 
framework programme to allow support for improvi ng access to the internet and ICT in rural 
areas For the period 2008–2010 a total amount of €141 million is planned to be spend.14 This 
is now followed by number of modifications submitted by German regions for developing 
broadband infrastructure in their rural areas. 
ICT development in rural areas: state aid rules 
In line with Article 87 of the EC Treaty, the gr ant of state aid needs to comply with the state 
aid rules. The Commission has noted in severa l cases that measures aimed at promoting 
widespread availability and us e of broadband services do not fall under any of the existing 
frameworks and guidelines. Therefore, if a public in itiative is to be considered as state aid its 
compatibility is in most cases assessed under Article 87(3)(c). 
More information on the issue was provided in the Commission Staff Working Paper on the 
“Guidelines on criteri a and modalities of use of St ructural Funds for electronic 
communications”, published by the Commission in July 2003. Since then, after having 
assessed more than 40 cases, the Commission now has a well-established approach and a clear 
and coherent policy concerni ng state aid to broadband.15 
State aid rules encourage well-designed public m easures that are best placed to address the 
lack of or limited affordable availability of  broadband in these regions. They increase the 
effectiveness of public funding by ensuring the us e of the minimum amount  of aid required in 
a necessary and proportionate way. Full compliance with the state aid rules will ensure that 
public involvement focuses on genuine and well-pr oven market failure, and where there is no 
alternative to granting public funding to overc ome the lack of broadband connectivity, the 
public support is propor tional so as to avoid crowding out or discouraging private investments 
or unduly restricting competition. Certain type s of state aid may also be considered 
compatible under the general block exemption regulations16 or under the de minimis  
regulation17 and do not need to be notified separately to the Commission if they are fully 
compliant with the underlying regulations. 
                                                 
14 See Commission Decision C(2008) 3157 of 02 July 2008 approving the related state aid scheme. 
15 Further explanations concerning application of th e state aid rules are available on DG Competition's 
webpage, including the list of broadband decisions available at 
http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/sectors/telecommunications/overview_en.html 
16 Commission Regulation (EC) No 800/2008 of 6 August 2008 declaring certain categories of aid 
compatible with the common market in application of Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty (General block 
exemption Regulation). OJ L 214, 9.8.2008. 
17 Commission Regulation (EC) No 1998 /2006 of 15 December 2006 on th e application of Articles 87 and 
88 of the Treaty to de minimis  aid OJ L 379, 28.12.2006. 
EN 10   EN 4. ICT  ACTIONS IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES 2007  – 2013 
The EAFRD is supporting the development of ICT businesses, services and broadband in 
rural areas. The opportunity to invest in these ar eas and in the skills upgrading of the rural 
population, including farmers, has been str ongly taken on board by Member States. 
This section draws on specific actions planned by MSs and regions in their RDPs (Table 3)18. 
To preserve the identity of the actions, they have been introduced separately, without being 
merged into a few general headings. 
Investments in hardware and software are elig ible in all programmes and in all measures, 
where their use is relevant. Because of this, su ch investments are excluded from the analysis. 
Investments in broadband infrastructure are c oncentrated in the measure for developing basic 
services for the rural population and economy u nder Axis 3 of rural development. Products 
and services, on the contrary, are covered by mo re than 10 measures from all axes, including 
that on basic services, and the most impor tant of these will be presented here. 
There are no specific funding commitments attached  to the ICT actions in rural development. 
The latter fall within the scope of measures wh ere non-ICT related invest ments will also take 
place. This is why budget figures displayed here represent a general total amount available for 
a measure, and covers all kind of actions. 
4.1. Development of basic services (infrastructure and services) 
Broadband infrastructure and access to internet  are considered as ba sic services in rural 
development.19 In the current period 2007–2013 in al most a third of the RDPs EAFRD 
support for infrastructural broadband proj ects in rural areas will be provided20. 
In more than half of the RDPs (47 RDPs of 16 MSs) direct actio ns on ICT (including 
broadband) targeting the creation of basic ICT infrastructure a nd services were planned. In 
total, investments in broadband infrastructure  are planned in 31 RDPs of 12 MSs (such as 
Austria; Sweden; Finland; the Italian regions Toscana, Trento, Piemont e, Veneto, Umbria; the 
German regions Niedersachsen and Bremen, S achsen, Rheinland-Pfalz; the Spanish regions 
Asturias, Andalucia, Canarias, Baleares, Extr emadura and Murcia; Vlaanderen in Belgium, 
etc.; Table 4). In addition, Bulgaria intends to  invest in mobile ICT centres, and Latvia, 
Lombardia (IT) and Thüri ngen (DE) in public intern et/communication points. 
Centres for ICT-based services will be developed by 7 MSs or some of their regions 
(Bulgaria, France, Hungary, Latvia, five Ital ian regions, Wallonie (BE), Niedersachsen and 
Bremen (DE) and Rheinland-Pfalz (DE)), with Rheinland-Pfalz (DE) an d Cyprus planning the 
establishment of youth centres with free access to the internet and free IT lessons. Seven 
Italian regions (Abruzzo, Umbria, Marche, To scana, Veneto, Liguria, Sardegna) have 
                                                 
18 Owning to the specificity of the legislation, severa l MSs opted to leave the content of certain measures 
under Axis 3 of rural development open, without specifying any priority commitments. These are not 
included in the numbers mentioned in this section, which does not mean that ICT investments will not 
take place in these MSs. Only RDPs where co mmitments have been specified are counted. 
19 This area for investments is part of Axis 3 of the rural development policy, measure “Basic services for 
the economy and rural population” (code 321). 
20 In a number of RDPs, Axis 3 is partially or fully implemented via the Leader axis. Because of this, 
actions on ICT investments could not be (fully) listed given the operational specificity of the Leader's 
bottom-up approach. 
EN 11   EN specifically targeted the development of e- government services as has Wallonie (BE). 
Improved use of telematic solutions and developm ent of ICT tools (in ge neral) are specifically 
on the agenda of 6 RDPs. 
Specific actions reflecting local broadband and in ternet conditions and situations have also 
been committed. For example, France and Co rse (FR) will support investments in IT 
equipment for health care professionals and in ICT networks, the latter being programmed 
also in Canarias (ES) and Molise (IT). 
The German region Sachsen-Anhalt, on the ot her hand, has scheduled rural development 
support for the purchase and set ting-up of IT equipment in small schools. In France and 
Hessen (DE) money will be made available for the development of internet portals. In other 
areas, such as Åland Islands (FI) , where coverage is equal to 100% , efforts will be targeted at 
promoting cooperation between enterprises a nd other actors in ru ral areas through the 
utilisation of telematic connections. 
Within the basic service domain actions are also  foreseen on the setting-up of tele-services 
and electronic consultation systems (ES Canari as) transport services operated by telephone as 
well as tele-assistance (IT Piemonte), tele-wor king (ES Baleares, ES Castilla-La Mancha, UK 
Wales and Finland Continental)  or village ICT initiatives covering provision of word 
processing facilities, publishing software, etc. ( UK Wales). Next to this is the development of 
multimedia and information laboratories and centres, or multifunctional centres in villages where access to the internet fo r the population will be provided. 
Investments in broadband infrastructure and services under the EAFRD are a part of the 
whole range of options for investments in basi c services, for which a total of €2.7 billion will 
be spent. It is impossible to identify the spendi ng on ICT at this stage, but actions planned hint 
that it could take a relatively good share. 
4.2. Farmers delivering ICT services 
Income diversification  has become a crucial factor in the multifunctional development of EU 
farms over the last decade. By  creating additional income opportunities, farmers not only 
support themselves and their families, but also become less dependent on changes in climate 
conditions and market fluctuati ons, attract more people into rural areas, create a basis for 
preventing the process of depopulation and enri ch the socio-economic development of rural 
areas by providing the local  population with services. 
In total 21 RDPs (15 MSs) have explicitly committed to offer financial resources for farmers  
who want to be involved in ICT services  (Table 5). Of these, the creation of web-sites and 
e-booking for tourism purposes are the most widesp read actions leading to the development of 
agri-tourism. IT services for the rural popula tion are envisaged, for example, by Finland, 
Poland and Galicia (ES). Brandenburg and Berlin  (DE) plan investments for assistance 
provided by farmers in ICT initiatives, Swed en focuses on networking, while Scotland (UK), 
Slovakia, Slovenia, Saarland (DE), Piemonte (IT) and Pais Vasco (ES) will increase access to 
the internet for diversifying farms and will s upport the increased use of ICT in non-farming 
businesses. 
Total investments for farm diversification, wh ich also include actions linked to development 
of ICT products and services, will am ount to €1.4 billion under the EAFRD. 
EN 12   EN 4.3. Modernisation of agricultural holdings and adding value to products 
Substantial support for modernising agricultural holdings , forestry managers and food 
industry enterprises, including equipping them with computers, modern technologies and 
machinery, will be provided under two measur es of Axis 1 of rural development — 
“Modernisation of agricultural holdings” (code 121) and “Adding value to agricultural and 
forestry products” (code 123). 
Although it is difficult to list specific investment s given the variety of agricultural sub-sectors 
and the many types of investments that can take  place, it is worth men tioning that the stated 
objectives of many MSs for equi pping farmers with computers and modern technologies, and 
as a result their networking, will be s upported in the current programming period. 
Over the period 2007–2013, in tota l about €9.6 billion will be provided from the EAFRD 
(10.5% of the overall EAFRD budget) for mode rnising agricultural holdings, and actions 
related to ICT will receive part of this support.  Another €5.5 billion in total, including also 
ICT-related actions, will be invest ed for adding value to products. 
4.4. Vocational training and upgrading of hum an capital in agriculture, forestry and 
the food industry 
The modernisation of EU agri culture goes hand-in-hand with upgrading of the knowledge of 
farmers  and their abilities to cope with the ch anging market and policy environment, ongoing 
reforms of the CAP and ec onomic market challenges. 
Commitments on vocational training are made by all MSs and all RDPs, with about 20 MSs 
(in 56 RDPs) specifically mentioni ng various types of ICT training among their priority fields 
for support. 
Among all initiatives, professional training in ICT and computer sk ills is explicitly envisaged 
by 15 MSs in 40 RDPs (Table 6). Among these are Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, 
Finland, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Malta  and the UK. Thirteen RDPs (by 7 MSs) 
specify that vocational training of farmers through e-learning will be provided, with web 
portals and web tools to be developed, for inst ance, in Austria, Malta and several Italian 
regions (Abruzzo, Toscana, Puglia, Umbria). 
Apart from the standard actions on training and upgrading of e-skills, specific training and 
information actions are planned in a number of  rural development programmes. For example, 
developing ICT use in farms will be supporte d by Martinique (FR) and Guadeloupe (FR). 
Farmers will be trained in data processing in Schleswig-Holstein (DE), while life-long learning for groups of rural population involved in the primary sector will be encouraged in Greece. Sweden, Northern Ireland (UK) and Emilia Romagna (IT) will develop farmers’ 
skills in setting up and managing ICT resource s in farming enterprises. Sweden will take 
actions also in the field of greater use of ICT by agricultural enterprises’ administration and 
for marketing purposes. 
Distance learning will be supported in France,  Valencia (ES) and Cataluña (ES), while 
Northern Ireland (UK) will invest in s ophisticated knowledge transfer systems. 
As regards information actions, several exam ples could be given. Permanent information 
systems favouring agricultural and rural development will be further developed in Calabria (IT) as well as the crea tion of a network through the intera ctive use of new ICT. Information 
activities using ICT will be carried out by Wa llonie (BE), Malta, Madr id (ES) and several 
EN 13   EN Italian regions such as Abruzzo, Marche, Sardegna, Toscana, Puglia and Umbria. In addition 
to these, the Netherlands will develop demonstration projects on the improvement of logistic systems and information technology. 
Overall, for training and information actions, including those on ICT, about €1 billion from 
the EAFRD will be spent in the current programming period. 
4.5. Creation of micro-enterprise s and business development 
Micro-enterprises and rural off-farm businesses  will also benefit substantially when it 
comes to the development of IT. Specific act ions are listed under 28 RDPs (by 17 MSs), 
where the creation of ICT-based services , cooperation networking, e-commerce and 
e-marketing, cluster formation and bookkeepi ng, will be the main targets (Table 7).  
Of the whole variety of actions  specified in the RDPs, the introduction of new technologies 
for bringing consumers and producer s closer seem to be the most  essential (Austria, Estonia, 
Açores (PT), Valencia (ES), Wales(UK) and some  Italian regions). This is followed by the 
creation of micro-enterprises pr oviding ICT-based services (Bul garia, Sardegna and Puglia 
(IT), Poland, Finland) and investments in  structural improvements, including the 
establishment of communicati on points (Lombardia (IT) a nd Liguria (IT), Brandenburg-
Berlin (DE)). Romania will support servic es for connecting and providing internet. 
Overall, under the EAFRD about €2.2 billion will be spent in the current programming period 
for the creation and development of all types of  micro-enterprises, in cluding those providing 
ICT services. 
4.6. Rural tourism and ICT 
Rural tourism  has become one of the major economic pillars for business development in 
rural areas. In the new programming period IC T will contribute to rural tourism mainly 
through the creation of websites for marketing and e-booking, tourist we b portals, information 
centres equipped with ICT, etc. as specifically  envisaged in 34 RDPs (by 13 MSs, Table 8). 
Apart from the creation of web portals and e- booking, which in the globalised world seems to 
be the most efficient way of providing potential  tourists with inform ation and access to book a 
holiday, networking of tourism actors deserves to  be pointed out, as planned for example by 
France, Sardegna (IT) and Sachsen-Anhalt (D E). Such networking could allow the easy 
transfer of innovation, information a nd communication between the parties. 
For the overall objective of deve loping rural tourism, including its  support via ICT, MSs have 
committed investments to the tune of €1.3 billion in total. 
4.7. Environmental use of ICT 
Rural development provides for wider envi ronmental use of current technologies, and 
ICT is no longer used se parately and only for economic purpos es. This is evident from the 
planned investments in forest fire tele-detec tion systems, forest fire monitoring systems, 
communication equipment (for prevention of forest fires) and ne tworking (14 RDPs). 
Such investments will be made in the current programming period under the measure for 
“Restoring forestry potential and introducing pr evention actions”, where a total of €1.6 billion 
will be spent (this funding covers also a wide ra nge of other activities, apart from those linked 
to ICT). 
EN 14   EN However, it could be noted that  there is scope for further de velopment of existing potential 
and much stronger use of ICT for environmental purposes. 
4.8. Training in ICT and information actions for rural population 
The study on availability of access to computer  networks in rural areas commissioned by DG 
Agriculture and Rural Developm ent has confirmed that rural areas have been skills and 
knowledge out-drained mostly by the out-migrati on of young people to cities and urban areas. 
This holds especially for the new MSs. As a resu lt of this negative process, e-learning and the 
development of infrastructure for its diffusion  such as training centres become important 
priorities for rural areas. Upgrading of e-skills  through local educational courses and training 
on PC use as well as training on broadband ne twork development becomes a necessity for 
local communities. 
Skills development and upgrading of farmers, fo resters and food processors receives special 
attention in the cu rrent programming period. However, the rural population  that is not 
involved in farming, forestry or  food processing can also be nefit from rural development to 
gain IT knowledge and to upgrade its e-skills  (Table 9). For example, in Ireland, a set of 
actions are due to be implemented: from trai ning in ICT and computer skills, through distance 
learning, on-line training and e-l earning, to the establishment of  mobile training solutions. 
Training in ICT for rural inhabitants is also e xplicitly envisaged, for example, in the Czech 
Republic, France, Finland, Luxembourg, Slovaki a and some Spanish regions (Castilla-La 
Mancha and Canarias). On-line training will also be provided  in several Italian regions 
(Marche, Veneto, Liguria and Campania). 
Overall, approximately €136 million will be spent under the EAFRD for training of the rural 
population and information actions. ICT actions are part of this funding. 
4.9. Other ICT actions in rural development 
Other aspect of the planned EAFRD support for developing and promoting ICT, as well as its 
better use in the daily life of farmers and rural in habitants, are the investments in networks in 
public buildings, training and information on e nvironmental issues in Natura 2000 combined 
with internet forums for the exchange of ideas and views. IT will be used also for setting up 
databases and e-catalogues for the conservatio n of biodiversity res ources, e-commerce for 
improving the economic value of forests, for pr ovision of advisory services, e-information 
and promotion of producer groups, support for m eeting standards on elect ronic identification 
of livestock (for example, purc hase of electronic devices for sheep and goats), etc. National 
and regional web portals for the rural deve lopment networks will also be financed. 
4.10. Leader 
Leader  actions will also cover a wide range of ICT investments in rural areas. Although it is 
difficult to envisage at this stage what Lo cal Action Groups (LAGs) can create and develop 
for the benefit of their area a nd its well-being, some elements have already been determined. 
For example, several German RDPs explicitly  mention the setting-up and maintenance of 
internet provision as tasks for LAGs. Innovati ve communication technologies in addressing 
tourism, productive sectors, the environment and cultural assets will be implemented, and 
innovative actions (e.g. e-governance, communicatio n) in transnational and inter-territorial 
cooperation, training, access to the internet, etc. are other aspects to be developed. 
EN 15   EN 5. COHESION POLICY INVESTMENTS FOR BROADBAND COVERAGE , E-PRODUCTS AND 
E-SERVICES  
Cohesion policy finds The Cohesion policy funds will co ntinue to develop broadband in frastructure in rural areas 
and to support products and services in ge neral. In the new programming period 2007–2013, 
about €15.3 billion from the Cohesion budget will be invested in priorities directly linked to 
the information society in the EU.  
In the Communication “Regions for economic change” it was stressed that both access to 
broadband infrastructure and servi ces and the strategic use of IC T constitute one of the main 
drivers for economic growth, social developm ent and inclusion. They are a key force for 
improving quality of life and redressing the ba lance between urban and rural areas. This 
message is reflected in the Community st rategic guidelines for cohesion 2007–2013, which 
highlight the importance of a balanced approach to the development of the information 
society including the provision of an  affordable broadband infrastructure. 
Although it is difficult to say how much of the invested €15.3 billion will be spent in rural 
areas, it is obvious that impacts will be significant. Many MSs a nd/or regions have opted, for 
example, to develop their broadband infrastruc ture entirely through the Structural Funds, 
while keeping EAFRD support vital for investme nts in products and services (Lithuania, 
Belgium, Finland, many German regions, Gree ce, Portugal, several Italian, Spanish and UK 
regions, etc.). 
Overall, of the total €344.4 bi llion Community funding under th e three Objectives (namely 
Convergence, Regional competitiveness and employment, and European territorial 
cooperation), some 4.4% (€15.3 b illion) will be used in th e current programming period 
2007–2013 for investments in the information soci ety, of which about three quarters for 
products and service development,  and the rest for infrastruc ture. Within the product and 
services domain, support for investments will target information and communication 
technologies, services and appl ications for SMEs and citizens as well as other measures 
leading to improved access and efficient use of ICT by SMEs. 
In about one third of the MSs (Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, 
Latvia, and Portugal) investments in infrastr ucture will represent up to 15% of the total 
commitments under the Information Society heading. But in others, such as Belgium, Ireland and Slovenia, it will account for mo re than 44% of the total spending for ICT development. In 
addition to this, two ICT-related "fast-track"  INTERREG IV C thematic regional networks 
have been launched in 2008.  
Proposals under the theme “Better ICT connecti ons between regions” are meant to reinforce 
the capacity of regional authoritie s to plan, manage and implement ICT strategies and projects 
that support EU policy objectives in the context of the digital divi de, in particular in rural and 
remote areas and less developed regions.  
Proposals under the theme “e-government” are meant to reinforce the capacity of regional 
authorities to make public services more effi cient, transparent and accessible to all citizens 
and businesses. 
The role that support from the Structural Funds (SFs) plays in rural areas can be seen also 
from the set of good practices collected by th e Study on “Availability of access to computer 
EN 16   EN networks in rural areas”. Fo r example, the Wireless Connections in the Archipelago, the 
Limousin Regional Network, the Rural Area Inte rconnection to the Educational Broadband IT 
Network (RAIN), the Nuenen, the Broadband Communication Network of the Kuyavia and 
Pomerania Region (K-PSI), KZ@BZ and the Sámi  Network Connectivity Project are typical 
examples of projects that have used sound SF financial support. All these projects share a 
common factor, namely the deployment of  ICT infrastructure, mainly broadband 
communications, to bridge the broadband gap. 
European Social Fund 
Investments under the ESF will also target the creation, development and upgrading of 
e-skills among the rura l population and workers in  certain MSs. Member  States and regions 
must ensure that there is no overlapping between  the various funds, and as a general principle 
those that have opted to use EAFRD funding for training in rural areas will not use ESF 
funding for the same activities. 
In the new programming period, four of the fi ve priorities as set in Regulation (EC) 
No 1081/2006 on the European Social Fund could be classed as having an impact on, or 
including activities related to, the development of e-skills in rural areas. This includes increasing adaptability of the workforce, enha ncing access to employment, reinforcing social 
inclusion and enhancing human capital. Howeve r, in most cases ICT training is supported 
horizontally across the country, and often refere nces to rural areas do not appear in the 
operational programmes. Nevertheless, some  concrete examples could be given. 
As discussed earlier, several Member States have chosen to use only the ESF to provide 
opportunities for vocational training for all rura l non-agricultural and non -forestry businesses 
(e.g. Bulgaria). In the Czech Republic, suppor t is provided generally for e-learning and 
e-skills development across the country. In Lithuania, the general computer literacy 
programme 2004–2012 aims to create the conditions  for all people to acquire the necessary 
computer literacy in line with their education and professional activities irrespective of their 
place of residence, ag e, gender, etc. In this contex t, the ESF will contribute to the 
implementation of the programme by helping pe ople to acquire the skills they need to use 
public electronic services. Priority will be gi ven to people over 45 years of age and people 
living in rural areas. 
In Germany, some nine regions will promote vo cational training, which in principle includes 
support for raising e-skills in rural areas. In  Slovakia efforts will be focused on improving 
educational levels of disadvant aged groups. In Aragon (ES), th e need to step up actions 
related to new ICT, particularly in rural areas, is specifically addressed. In England (UK) activities to tackle specific barriers to work  faced by unemployed or inactive people in rural 
areas have been planned, while in Wales, acquiring ICT skills is clearly among the ESF 
investments priorities. 
EN 17   EN 6. IMPACTS OF THE INTRODUCTION OF ICT  IN RURAL AREAS21 
The SAANCRA study commissioned by DG Agricu lture and Rural Development in 2007 has 
put together a set of 67 good practice case studies , of which 59 relate to EU projects and 8 to 
non-EU projects. We focus our at tention here on the EU case  studies, which are analysed 
further. 
The set of good practices shows the variety of e ffects that the introduct ion of ICT can have on 
farms, food industries, non-agricultural busin esses, the rural population, and socio-economic 
life and communication in general. 
This section draws on the information collected in the process of compiling the set of good 
practices as regards the pr ojects developed in the EU22. Projects cover the three major areas of 
rural development intervention (farm, forest ry and food industry competitiveness; land 
management and the environment; quality of life and development of the rural economy). 
Often funding for ICT projects is obtained through Leader, wh ich shows the inter-linkage 
between the bottom-up approach and the thr ee major priorities of rural development. 
However, the SFs, rural development funding an d funding under the research agenda of the 
Community represented by the 6t h and 7th Framework Programmes have also been used as 
sources for financing some of the projects. Many  of the applications, after their initial stage 
and testing, have been turned  into commercia l activities. 
It is worth mentioning that examples of transnat ional projects (i.e. projects developed in more 
than one country) or projects whose product has been tested in all the proj ect’s partner 
countries could also be displayed.. These ha ve significant positive transnational spill-over 
effects and show how a large area can benefit fr om a single initiative de veloped through ICT. 
The ensuing analysis looks in turn  at each of the areas that have gained from ICT. It should be 
mentioned that often ICT projects appear to be a successful response to issues of rural 
poverty, isolation, technological and infrastructu ral deficiencies as well as reduced market 
power and falling sales volumes.  
6.1. Benefits for the farming sector – examples of good ICT practices 
ICT projects can impact on farm businesses in various ways. In partic ular, the creation of 
conditions for generating growth  and reducing costs can be esse ntial. In certa in cases, the 
number of users can become an important proxy  for the success or usefulness of certain ICT 
products. This is typified not only by the in troduction of new technologies, practices and 
production methods, but also by expansion or maintenance of the markets for the production 
and improvements in the relationships of all t ypes within certain agri -food chains. Experience 
shows that even the most tradit ional activities can, or  have the potential to, generate economic 
opportunities. 
Organic farming 
How ICT can be used to boost the competitiveness of organic farms is demonstrated, for 
example, by the S’Atra project (Sardegna, Italy) . There, sufficient ICT and related training 
                                                 
21 This section draws on the inform ation collected by the external co nsultant in the framework of the 
Study on Availability of Access to Computer Netw orks in Rural Areas (SAACNRA). The European 
Commission can not be held responsible if this information is incomplete or inaccurate. 
22 In some of these projects, one or more of the partners are from a non-EU country (e.g. Norway). 
EN 18   EN was provided to about 100 small farmers and pr oducers in remote rural areas to sustain a 
thriving international business wi th an extensive product range. ICT and access to the internet 
were used as tools supporting, on the one ha nd, communication and relationships between the 
cooperative farm members and, on the other hand, the establishment of a platform for direct 
sales to international clients. This, combined w ith active participation at international events 
and fairs, has substantially increased the volumes  of products sold an d the net gains of the 
cooperative and its members. 
The importance of web portals for promoting orga nic production is demons trated also in the 
case of the Organic-Denmark project (Den mark), where about 3 000 farmers producing 
organic food gained the oppor tunity to establish direct  contacts with buyers. 
Trade with agricultural and food industry products 
Globalisation and new technologies, together with  the huge variety of products have led to 
new developments in the trade relationships between farmers, food processors, intermediates 
and retailers, and final clients. 
Several good practice examples depict the impact that e-commerce can have on farm 
businesses. Internet trading platforms are crea ted as a response mostly to growing market 
pressure (S’Astra, Italy; Impecta, Sweden; Ne tBrokers, Poland) or as a result of consumers 
switching to online services (Rotalde, Spain) instead of traditional methods of maintaining 
relationships and performing tran sactions with their suppliers. 
Such trading platforms also represent a dyna mic means of exchangi ng of information and 
meeting trade offers. They can further de velop in online financial transactions.  
Farmers and food processors who need to trade on internet pl atforms may become a driving 
force behind the infrastructural broadband develo pments in rural areas, as shown by Impecta 
(Sweden), where local authorit ies and telecommunication comp anies invested in broadband 
after being approached by a local company that needed an  internet connection. A similar 
situation has been experienced by an Oxford farm shop (UK), where integrated services 
offering networking between the various buildi ngs of the enterprise, phones and broadband 
has reduced costs has increased efficiency and have enabled the business to open up to more 
channels through which to communicate with its customers. 
Beneficiaries of such projects could be farming enterprises or farmers (such as in the case of 
Impecta, Sweden), farmers located in a commun ity (Rotalde, Spain), and even large numbers 
of agricultural enterprises such as the approximately 3 000 companies present on the 
NetBrokers' trading platform. The impact of  e-commerce on farming can therefore be 
substantial. 
In the “Food and Drink” project (Greece) trade opportunities for final customers are combined 
with free access for them to daily news, intervie ws, articles, job vacancies , etc., all related to 
the food industry. The online presentation of the major Greek food and drink industry 
companies as well as their major products furt her enriches the range of choice for the final 
client and brings producers and consumers closer together. 
EN 19   EN Farm and rural tourism  
The Commission's rural development statistical report 2008 clearly identifi es rural tourism as 
one of the major off-farm activities conducte d by EU farmers and si x good practices clearly 
relate to farm and rural tourism. 
Tackling rural tourism with ICT can lead to positive effects everywhere, but especially in 
areas with poor or missing telephone infrastr ucture where access to the internet is hugely 
disadvantaged or absent. The project Dolina C zarnej (Poland), conducted by the agri-tourism 
association having the same name, has managed to promote the Rakow region and to create a 
much higher inflow of tourists in a situation where access to th e internet was lacking in the 
region. The created electronic platform and th e established mobile communication network 
have resulted in easier exchange of inform ation between the farms providing agro-tourism 
services, a cheap, fast and easy-to-access advertis ing channel and greater in terest in the region 
leading to higher numbers of bookings and visits. 
The Ammarnäs project (Sweden) further show s how village (community) web portals where 
natural and cultural heri tage is collectively marketed, a nd local socio-economic agents are 
promoted, can generate economic effects. It has attracted more t ourists, it has reduced 
transaction costs for reservat ions and bookings (done previous ly via telephone or post) and 
shifted them almost 100% online, all this leadin g to the maintenance of  nearly all the jobs 
available in the village, which have been largely dependent on tourism activities. The 
involvement of the local players, with severa l SMEs having an important role, gives a good 
example of how rural SMEs can work in clusters. The presence of good broadband 
infrastructure has substantially eased the work on the project.  
These two contrasting examples  of good practice show that IC T can act as a mechanism for 
fostering the development of areas that experi ence difficulties in obtaining sufficient numbers 
of tourists and face high transa ction costs, and that impacts cannot be expected only in 
disadvantaged areas. 
This is confirmed in the “Fjälhästen” project (Sweden), where the sustainability of the eco-
tourism has been guaranteed through online mark eting, despite the rather  small scale of the 
company.  
The example of the mountainous hotel “Martinske  Hole” (Slovakia) gives further evidence of 
the potential of the internet as demonstrated  by the 30% higher bookings experienced by the 
hotel compared to the situation without internet marketin g and online availability of their 
services. Similar benefits were enjoyed by a mountainous farmhouse  providing tourist 
accommodation in Slovenia (“Turisticna kme tja Metul”) after launching its online booking 
system, as well as by the Cumberland Hotel (Alston, UK). 
Training and inform ation for farmers 
One important aspect contributing to better  performance of farmers as producers and 
managers is their ability to ta ke fast and correct decisions as  well as to implement production 
practices and technological pro cesses in a way that ensures their sustainable development. 
Skills upgrading is a major factor in achieving these objectives. 
Developing IT competence among the farm co mmunity is an essential part of rural 
development policy and its outcomes can make a vital contribution, for example, to the 
adjustment of farmers to market situations  and the use of new technologies. The positive 
EN 20   EN benefits of the knowledge upgrad e can be seen in the Ball yhoura Country (South West, 
Ireland) where pilot implementation of a multi-targeted project on developing IT competences has resulted initially in the training of 367 adults (of whom 73% were women), and another 1 
512 by the end of the three-year period, and delivered “summer school” ICT training for 
about 1 000 children. In addition, about 70 farmers ha ve benefited from this  training initiative, 
being equipped with, and accredited for, the ICT skills necessary to improve and diversify 
farm activities. 
The three strands of the proj ect (ICT for farmers, ICT fo r women and mobile ICT) are 
interlinked, mutually reinforcing and impact on different layers of rural society. Such multi-layer approach can have positive impacts in communities where farm management and farm 
efficiency need to be improved, where skills and competences for farm diversification and 
farm activities are still desired, where women’s acce ss to labour as well as their ability to start 
a business needs to be promoted, and where children should be provided with the same 
knowledge as that acquired by children in urban areas. 
Special IT training for farmers has also been provided under the Sarekide  project (Spain), in 
which agricultural producers received courses on desktop applications and themes of interest 
for the agricultural sector, web systems and systems specialising in farm management. 
However, many rural inhabitants and farmers do  not have complete information on how to 
gain access to Community funding for their project s as well as on procedures, how to fill in 
application forms, etc. Such gaps have been  filled successfully by the “eFarmer” project 
(Slovakia), for example, where farming comm unities in four MSs (Slovakia, the Czech 
Republic, Hungary and Poland) are provided with  up-to-date content linked to the support 
they can, or have the right to, receive. This is followed by a package of web services to 
support farmers in their electronic submissions of  claims to their Paying Agency such as for 
SAPS, LFA, national top-up payments  etc., with options to check for and remove errors in the 
draft application. The project estimates that a total net gain for farmers amounting to 
€275 million could be achieved, if farmers’ awaren ess in these four countries is raised by 10% 
through the project. The existence of such platfo rms may also provide incentives to farmers to 
start using computers and the internet. 
Other projects, such as Rural Living Lab (Hu ngary), have developed wireless solutions for 
rural farmers and producers in Hungary, and their family or micro-enterp rises, involved in 
agricultural production, affording them direct a ccess to useful and up-to-date databases of 
information related to daily operations and production, forecasts, market prices, etc. 
On the other hand, Crepac (Corsica, France),  a marketing network driven by Corsica’s 
agriculture and, to some extent, tourism industrie s, has targeted the prom otion of the area and 
local (agricultural and food-processing) bus inesses around certain seasonal events and 
industries. 
Farm innovation 
Many ICT projects in agricultu re are innovative. One example is the project that has 
introduced ICT in the sheep-milk sector in th e Basque region (Spain). There, 22 shepherds 
and cheese makers were provided with laptops and web applications developed to manage 
their business. Additionally, te chnical support was provided toge ther with basic training in 
computer skills and specific training on the use of  the applications. As a result, a reduction in 
the time spent for management and administration has been observed. 
EN 21   EN Precision farming 
ICT can play a crucial role in precision farming, as proven by the Prefarm project (the Czech 
Republic). This concept in agriculture relies on the existence of in-field variability, and for its development the existence of new technologies such as GPS, sensors, satellites, etc. is a major 
prerequisite. 
Farmers often need advice on farm management , systems and practices. Some farmers are 
interested in knowing how to co mbine the various qualities of their main production factors, 
for example, soil variation and fertility, as well as territorial factors such as elevation (altitude 
at which farming in conducted) and what imp act these aspects might have on their farm 
business. The effects achieved can vary and de pend on the scale of use of the practice, but 
references to better time management and planni ng, optimal use of fertilizers and other inputs 
as well as reduced negative environm ental effects could easily be listed. 
The Prefarm project system now covers abou t 300 000 ha of agricultural land and about 
500 users have been identified. Coming as a soluti on to the need for advice on farming, it has 
easily obtained recognition among farmers in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany and 
Italy, displaying also how ICT use can be easily transferred across borders, if applications are 
correctly developed, targeted and used. 
Spatial data management 
The WirelessInfo project (Czech Republic) has been chosen as an example of spatial data 
management. This project aims to bring together  SMEs, research and indu stry with a focus on 
new development, testing and exploitation of services and technologies for spatial data 
management in rural areas, covering agricultu re, forestry, emergency systems, logistics and 
public administration. 
6.2. Benefits for the rural economy, environm ent and population – examples of good 
ICT practices 
Broadband infrastructure 
Broadband needs in the rural areas  described below have been driven by different factors, 
projects had different objectives and aims, but overall their implementation has led to a 
revival of social and economic life. Public-private partnershi ps have proven successful. 
The development of broadband infr astructure in rural areas clos e to major cities has been 
combined with the provision of bundles compound set of applications (e.g. Rural Living Lab, 
Hungary), while in remote and isolated areas, significantly fe wer (if any) applications are 
provided to (potential) beneficiaries and the in frastructure is less developed. There is still 
more to be done in these areas, which leaves  a lot of economic oppo rtunities open to IT 
businesses. In addition, in several cases packages combining internet access, TV and telephony have been offered to the public, and they have been well accepted by the rural population (Nuenen, the Netherlands). 
Some of the projects that have been develope d were initiated because of previous market 
failures in delivering broadband to rural areas,  which at that time were underserved. Such 
examples are Watzelsdorf (Austria), the Ba ltic rural broadband project (Finland), and 
Cahersiveen Satellite Broadband (Ireland). Broadba nd projects have also been implemented in 
isolated, remote or mountainous ru ral areas, where providers were  not interested in investing 
EN 22   EN owing to high costs and low numbers of potenti al users (broadband technology to bridge the 
digital divide, Brescia, Italy; Cybermoor, UK; Limousin, France). 
Networking and the creation of public access points  are other approaches used in rural areas 
for reducing the digital divide. An example of the networking of towns, attracting businesses 
to rural areas, is eTowns (Ireland). Broadband ha s been delivered also in cases where national 
and/or local authorities have focused on ne tworking of public administrations (RAIN, 
Lithuania) or when a good quality communica tion system has been provided via Public 
Internet Access Points (Zielonka, Poland; Rude, Portugal; Ikonk@, Poland; I-Centre, 
Bulgaria; Corsica hotspot, France; Look@Worl d, Estonia), mostly accommodated in public 
libraries, but also in museums, local administ rative buildings, etc. Th e total number of public 
internet access points created under the aforem entioned projects amount to some 3 961 and 
the RAIN project has spread broadband to a bout 33% of the rural territory in Lithuania23. 
Easy access to most of the public access points has also been provided made available for 
people with disabilities. It is important to note that the success of any similar initiative 
depends on choosing the correct technology for broadband delivery. 
Several projects were preceded by studies or the development of sub-regional, local 
broadband strategies (eTowns, Ireland; Rura l information system for the LAG Platani 
Quisquina, Italy; Baltic rural broadband proj ect, Finland; Turku Archipelago Living Lab, 
Finland; KZ@BZ, Spain; etc.). This helped project managers to discover the actual needs of 
the local socio-economic environment, to dete rmine the possibilities for using one or other 
technology and the potential impacts and be nefits from the introduction of the new 
connection. In Cyprus, the Diadigite project co nducted research on personal and domestic use 
of the internet with the aim of developing a st rategy for internet expansion. This included not 
only identifying the rural areas where labs could be established, but also setting them up and 
equipping them, conducting training and analysing results. In cer tain cases (KZ@BZ, Spain), 
the initial research showed that some population centres that were supposed to be within the 
reach of existing private operators were in fa ct excluded. Such results inevitably improve the 
impacts of the projects and focus their targeting and implementation better. 
The Rural information system for the LAG Platan i Quisquina project (Italy), for example, was 
initiated as a response to the reduced competitiveness of local businesses following globalisation, the lack of broadband coverage in  some of the rural areas and low government 
investments in ICT in this re gion. In searching for solutions, the project managed to build on 
the national government broadband strategy to make it a regional shar ed-service strategy, 
followed by a strategic value-case analysis qua ntifying the future impact of the technology, 
and finally to introduce a wireless mesh networ k brought to rural areas with fibre optics to 
connect long-distance backbones. As a result, the digital divide is expected to be reduced in 
79 of the province’s most underserved communitie s, shared services will bring government 
closer to people and businesses, and a pos itive impact of about €139 million over the 
following six years is expected, coming from  a variety of sources such as saved 
unemployment benefits, tax revenue from those w ho manage to keep their jobs thanks to the 
broadband development, productivity benefits ge nerated by more efficient businesses having 
access to broadband-based internet business solutions, public administration benefits 
displayed in increased productivity and transact ion cost savings from fully scaled regional 
shared public services including intranet, e-procur ement, intranet connectivity to schools, and 
e-health. 
                                                
 
23 Data for the number of internet access points created by Rude (Portuga l) has not been provided by the 
consultants.  
EN 23   EN Social benefits can be achieved when i nvestments in broadband are simultaneously 
accompanied by investments in applications su ch as home-care and monitoring systems for 
example. The broadband development in Zielon ka (Poland) has gone hand-in-hand with the 
creation of a security monitori ng system with cameras, which ha s increased security in the 
town. In Nuenen (the Netherlands) the netw ork supports home care technologies and video 
links which allow doctors to communicate with patients at home. E-health and e-government 
services are to be started in the broadband network of the Kuyavia and Pomerania Region 
(Poland). 
The relocation of knowledge-based SMEs from urban to rural area s can also lead to benefits 
for rural areas in terms of creation of broadba nd infrastructure. The example of DBTG (North 
West, UK) demonstrates that a rural area ca n attract businesses by offering less expensive 
conditions for them to operate, invest and grow. 
Whether for existing or relocating businesses, the development of loca l business portals and 
applications for SMEs is an important factor creating opportunities that should not be missed. 
Benefits have been secured for SMEs in this way in the case of RLL (Hungary), the Sámi Network Connectivity Project (Sweden) etc.  
There are many rural areas where broadband connec tions exist, but quality of service remains 
low. In such areas, what is made available for the local economy needs to be improved. Several case studies demonstrate the impacts that  such investment might have in rural areas 
(e.g. Katrineholm, Sweden). For example, Proj ect Access (UK) has lifted take-up rates in 
Cumbria from the lowest regist ered broadband take-up in the re gion to the highest. Internet 
usage in homes has quintupled (f rom 7% to 36%) and by busine sses more than doubled (from 
20% to 49%), while at the same time economic decline has been halted. A few years later, a 
growth rate higher than the UK averag e (0.6% above) has been registered. 
Training, promotion and information 
Developing broadband without poten tial beneficiaries who have th e skills to use it will not 
result in positive outcomes. Training can serve not only as a skills upgrading measure, but 
also as an instrument reducing unemployment,  developing entrepreneurship and promoting 
knowledge. 
The eLearning-Livani project (Latvia) created an  e-learning centre in Livani and has focused 
on developing training courses for beginners and advanced users with consecutive training in 
business planning. Its success has been proven by  the increasing number of participants and 
their willingness to continue upgrading their education by at tending the more advanced 
courses. Targeting low-paid  workers has been the main  objective of the Workplace 
Guidance 2 project (Finland) where participants are given the opportunity to take up learning 
options and improve their employability. 
A similar distinction between the different types of trainees to that in the Livani project 
(Latvia) has been made also in the framewor k of the CRISP project (Ireland) where courses 
additionally targeted digital photography, comp uterised accounting and website design. The 
underlying idea behind this multi-targeting of su bjects and participants was the uneven take-
up of ICT in rural areas which the project aimed to turn in to a coherent network giving 
expression also to the local voice of the peopl e. The latter has been achieved by creating a 
local website, that is kept upda ted, and by requesting local people to contribute with articles 
or any other information to its content. 
EN 24   EN Higher take-up has been also the purpose of I-Centre (Bulgari a) and Look@World (Estonia), 
the latter of which, for example, aimed to cr eate a training network, with special emphasis on 
rural areas given the better IT  competences observed among the urban population. As a result, 
about 73% of the participants in the training courses have subsequently become regular 
internet users and about 15% of  adults in the Estonian rura l areas have received training. 
Introducing modern technologies to the rural population is of ten a good way of starting IT 
initiatives in rural areas. Such an approach  has been applied by Sarekide (Spain) in the 
Basque Region where an exhibition on the latest  technologies and how th ey can be used to 
improve the quality of life has been organised.  Part of the exhibition has been a training area 
for farmers (already discussed), another section has focused on the latest mobile and digital 
technologies, and there have been cyber ga mes and digital video area for young people and 
children. In total some 3 000 peopl e have visited the exhibition. 
A considerable boost in the inform ation flows to rural citizens coul d be seen in the case of the 
“Information Office for citizens” (Insuratei, Romania), where the IT project has set up a new 
and modern system allowing the easy circulation of documents between th e local municipality 
and the county council. In addition, information on EU policies and institutions, access to decisions and official documents, guidance co ncerning Romanian la ws, land renting and 
cultural activities are other streams that  have been developed under the project. 
Finally, the Media event project (Latvia) has implemented new methods for low-cost 
interactive learning, thereby im proving the process of informa tion processing and its delivery 
to the local population. 
Renewable energy 
The internet can be a useful tool for prom oting renewable energy. For example, Pro-Bio-
Energy (Germany) has developed a virtual mark etplace for bio-energy and has promoted the 
replacement of fossil fuels with local and regi onal biomass production, in all the project’s 
partner countries (Sweden, Denmar k, the UK, Germany and Norway). 
E-commerce 
Like farmers and food processors, non-agricultu ral businesses in rura l areas benefit from 
e-commerce actions and the case studies in the set of good practices show  how initially fairly 
small businesses can grow with little investments, but good innovative ideas. 
For example, Martinus (Slovakia) has become the biggest internet books hop in Slovakia with 
about 140 000 visitors a month, a nd this following an investment  of some €2 000. It is a good 
example of how certain businesse s in rural areas, when fulfill ing their local potential, can 
expand and grow, and add to the economic perfor mance of their area. In addition, thanks to 
this IT initiative, the number of jobs  in the company has more than tripled. 
Similar benefits, though not on the same scale, have been achieved by the Zamas massage 
school in Slovakia, which after being held b ack by lack of competitiveness and a dwindling 
client base, promoted its services on the web. The resulting approximately 50% increase in 
the final number of clients speaks for itsel f. The school furtherm ore stopped using other 
media for promoting its activ ities, once a smoothly running website had been launched. 
EN 25   EN Jobs and growth 
The cases discussed in this section present suffi cient evidence that growth in rural areas can 
be achieved if ICT is used correctly for addressing current market and socio-economic 
deficiencies. Although direct job creation is seldom the major idea behind an ICT project, and 
benefits cannot always be quantified given the overall impact on whol e areas and their 
economy, a few more examples can be provided. 
The “Team International” projec t (Ireland) is a particular cas e of innovative entrepreneurship 
leading to job creation through the discovery of a tiny market niche with great economic 
potential. The project was initiated in a predom inantly rural area as a small rural enterprise, 
but its services (translation, lo calisation, interpreting, proof-readin g and abstracting in a large 
number of languages) are now provided by mo re than 750 freelance e- workers, working at 
home but operating in a cultur e of effective project manage ment. The project has overcome 
distances and geographical disadv antages, and has minimised as much as possible the impact 
of personal circumstances as contacts take pl ace via the internet. However, customers are 
provided with complete services from project management to processing procedures, through 
quality assurance, confid entiality/non-disclosure ag reements and copyright. 
Environmental awareness raising 
Direct and indirect environmental effects have been achieved through many projects, and 
several of those presented in th e previous section are examples  of this. Two other projects, 
however, with different methodologies and target groups have exploited the internet as a tool 
for distributing knowledge and education on  environmental problems and issues and 
promoting sustainability. 
The project to establishment of a system for training on su stainability aspects in Vyso čina (the 
Czech Republic), for example, is using an innovative web-based infrastructure that allows 
local environmental data to be  shared across Europe using me thods based on virtual reality, 
multimedia and GIS services. 
The Passerelle ECO project (France) tackles envi ronmental issues from a different perspective 
by promoting eco-villages and distributing info rmation newsletters on current developments. 
Although a very specific case, it shows how ICT can be used as a tool for promoting ideas and 
lessons learned. 
Local heritage 
ICT can also be a useful tool for promo ting local cultural and natural heritage, as 
demonstrated by the “Les Plus Beaux Villages de Wallonie” proj ect (Belgium). It has grouped 
23 villages and gathered their efforts in promo ting their rural areas. It is interesting to note 
that conditions for villages to be admitted to  become part of this group include having a 
distinct rural character, one or  more monuments or buildings th at are listed or likely to be 
listed in the future, an architectural and urban heritage of value which is assessed against a 
number of criteria, and finally the sharing of  common objectives between the local inhabitants 
and the municipality. 
Basic services 
An example of social development using ICT coul d be given with the project developed in the 
Czech Republic to create a system for managing emergency vehicles in Vyso čina, a typical 
EN 26   EN rural region in the country. Th is project has not only has imp roved the management of the 
emergency cars, but has also increased th eir efficiency, especially in winter. 
7. CONCLUSIONS  
Developing and improving existing broadband infrastructure has b een the central objective of 
ICT investments over the last few years in rural areas, with attention being currently shifted to e-products and e-services. Va rious processes such as de population and out-migration, 
declining economic activities, low commercial at tractiveness, market pressure leading to 
closure of businesses and withdr awal of public servi ces (financial, admi nistrative, social, 
etc.), inadequate communication systems and infr astructure, etc. have attracted the attention 
of local and national policy-makers to rural areas and have brought back innovation in rural areas for people and businesses in their attempts to resist market pressure and ensure decent 
incomes and quality of life. 
Experience shows that ICT enhances busines s efficiency and competitiveness and creates 
advantages for all sectors, including farming and the food industry. It does not matter what 
technology is used for breaking down the rural-ur ban digital divide as long as objectives are 
achieved and the enviro nment is protected. 
The EU should take full advantage of existi ng technologies, products  and processes and 
successfully match them with existing funding (Community, na tional and private), thereby 
creating favourable conditions for development and growth of rural areas. All this should 
contribute to the Lisbon objectiv es and lead to strong territor ial cohesion and greater socio-
economic well-being in rural areas.  
Rural development policy 2007–2013 shows many options  for investing in ICT in agriculture, 
agri-food and forestry, and in the rural econo my in general. MSs and regions need to 
efficiently target funding and capital in order to  achieve the best outcomes. In order to meet 
the needs of the rural populati on in a comprehensive manner and to ensure that EU funding 
can have a significant impact, managing authorities of different EU programs will need to co-
operate closely and complement each other activ ities applying a strategic approach for rural 
areas' development.  
EN 27   EN 8. REFERENCES  
COM(2005) 229, 2005, “i2010 — A European Information Society for growth and 
employment”  
COM(2005) 330, 2005, “Common Actions for Grow th and Employment: The Community 
Lisbon Programme” 
COM(2006) 857, 2006, “Employment in rura l areas: closing the jobs gap” 
COM(2006) 129, 2006, “Bridging the Broadband Gap” COM(2007) 146, 2007, “i2010 — Annual Information Society Report 2007” COM(2007) 803, 2007, “Strategic report on the rene wed Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs: 
launching the new cycle (2008–2010) — K eeping up the pace of change” 
COM(2008) 394, 2008, ““Think Small First” — A “Small Business Act” for Europe” 
COM(2008) 800, 2008, “A European Economic Recovery Plan”  
Commission Decision C(2008) 3157 of 2 July 2008  Commission Regulation (EC) No  800/2008 of 6 August 2008 declar ing certain categories of 
aid compatible with the common market in ap plication of Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty 
(General block exemption Regula tion). Official Journal L 214, 9.8.2008 
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1998/2006 of 15 December 2006 on the application of 
Articles 87 and 88 of the Treaty to de minimis  aid. Official Journal L 379, 28.12.2006 
Council Conclusions 7085/07, 19 March 2007 Council Decision 2006/144/EC of 20 February 2006 on Community strategic guidelines for 
rural development (programming period 2007 to 2013) 
Riga declaration, ICT for an Inclusive Society Conference, 11-13.6.2006, Riga, Latvia 
Rural development programmes 2007–2013, DG AGRI database, EC, Brussels European Commission, 2008, Rural developm ent statistical report 2008, Brussels 
Study on “Availability of access to computer  networks in rural areas” (SAACNRA) 
http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture /analysis/extern al/index_en.htm  
The i2010 Agenda — a European Success Stor y in the Making, Speech by Commissioner Mrs 
Viviane Reding at the i2010 Co nference — Information Societ y at a Crossroads, Brdo, 
13 May 2008 
Tools in the toolbox: ICT and broadband in rural areas, Speech by Commissioner 
Mrs Mariann Fischer Boel at the Conference on  Bridging the Broadba nd Gap: Benefits of 
broadband for rural areas and less deve loped regions, Brussels, 15 May 2007, 
SPEECH/07/311 
EN 28   EN 9. TABLES AND FIGURES  
Table 1. DSL coverage in the EU27 as of December 2007 an d its evolution (2007 to 2005), % coverage of 
total area 
 DSL coverage  Change in DSL coverage (in %)*  
Country Rural Sub-
urban Urban National Rural Sub-
urban Urban National 
Belgium 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Bulgaria n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 
Czech Republic 75.0 85.0 98.0 85.0 n.a. n.a. n.a. 10.0 
Denmark 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Germany 87.5 94.6 99.2 95.7 32.5 –3.4 0.2 3.7 
Estonia 73.0 0.0 90.0 85.0 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 
Ireland 73.3 99.3 99.8 89.2 16.8 0.8 0.3 6.9 
Greece 50.0 85.0 100.0 86.3  50.0 85.0 83.0 74.3 
Spain 88.0 90.0 93.0 91.0 6.0 0.0 2.0 2.0 
France 96.7 98.7 99.2 98.5 8.8 0.7 –0.1 2.1 
Italy 81.7 90.8 99.8 94.0 37.1 3.7 1.0 7.0 
Cyprus 0.0 40.0 100.0 79.6 0.0 40.0 0.0 9.9 
Latvia 65.0 80.0 98.0 87.0 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 
Lithuania 67.5 96.5 99.0 87.9 12.9 2.4 0.0 5.7 
Luxembourg 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Hungary 80.0 94.0 98.0 91.0 4.0 7.0 6.0 6.0 
Malta     99.0 99.0     0.0 0.0 
Netherlands 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
Austria 80.6 99.0 100.0 92.0 13.6 1.0 2.0 6.0 
Poland** 42.5 45.0 85.5 64.0 u u u 1.7 
Portugal 86.0 96.0 99.0 95.0 7.0 0.0 0.0 2.4 
Romania n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 
Slovenia 85.5 95.3 98.5 92.2 58.5 51.3 4.5 37.2 
Slovakia 38.5 83.6 94.3 73.9 13.5 17.0 9.0 13.1 
Finland 91.0 98.0 99.0 96.0 13.0 2.0 1.0 5.6 
Sweden 90.0 99.0 99.0 97.8 24.0 3.0 0.0 4.3 
United Kingdom 96.1 100.0 100.0 99.6 1.3 0.0 0.0 0.1 
EU27 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a n.a. n.a. n.a. 
EU15 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a n.a. n.a. n.a. 
EU12 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a n.a. n.a. n.a. 
 
Source: DG AGRI Rural development statistical report 2008, European Commission 
Notes: 
– The delimitation of areas is different from the OECD definition: 
 – rural: < 100 hab./km² 
 – suburban: 100 to 500 hab./km² 
 – urban: > 500 hab./km² 
* The change is measured in absolute terms, i.e.  the difference between the % DSL coverage in 2007 
and the % DSL coverage in 2005. 
 — Some small negative changes may be due to sampling problems 
** Changes in Poland concerning infrastructure not displayed as considered not reliable. 
EN 29   EN Table 2. Share of population having a DSL internet subscription as of December 2007 and change in the 
share of population having a DSL internet s ubscriptions in 2007 versus 2005, % of total 
population 
 DSL take-up  Change in DSL take-up (in %)*  
Country Rural Suburban Urban National Rural Suburban Urban National 
Belgium 16.7 15.6 15.0 15.3 1.4 2.2 3.4 2.8 
Bulgaria n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a n.a. n.a. n.a. 
Czech Republic 4.8 4.6 10 .5 5.9 2.6 2.6 5.6 3.2 
Denmark 10.9 25.7 28.4 22.0 3.2 7.6 8.4 6.5 
Germany 9.2 22.6 26.5 22.5 4.9 9.9 11.4 9.9 
Estonia n.a. n.a. n.a. 10.1 n.a. n.a. n.a. 1.9 
Ireland 6.4 15.4 19.0 13.4 4.3 8.4 12.3 8.4 
Greece n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 
Spain 8.5 12.8 16.7 14.1 3.1 2.8 5.9 4.7 
France 21.1 22.3 25.0 23.5 9.3 8.4 8.9 8.9 
Italy 10.3 14.5 19.2 16.3 5.5 4.3 4.2 4.5 
Cyprus 0.0 2.6 16.8 12.3 0.0 2.6 8.7 6.6 
Latvia 3.0 7.3 9.0 7.0 n.a. n.a. n.a. 4.0 
Lithuania 3.0 7.7 9.1 6.9 1.7 4.3 4.9 3.8 
Luxembourg 20.0 22.7 23.6 22.6 7.7 8.6 8.5 8.4 
Hungary 2.8 7.3 11.7 7.3 1.7 4.1 5.0 3.6 
Malta n.a. n.a.  9.4 9.4 n.a.  n.a.  1.9 1.9 
Netherlands 20.9 20.9 20.9 20.9 5.3 5.3 5.3 5.3 
Austria 7.2 15.8 17.5 12.9 2.7 5.7 5.5 4.4 
Poland 1.9 10.0 7.6 6.2 0.8 4.3 3.8 2.9 
Portugal 6.2 8.4 13.5 10.2 3.0 4.2 –0.2 3.4 
Romania n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 
Slovenia 9.0 9.2 23.1 12.2 4.5 4.7 9.9 5.7 
Slovakia 2.3 5.5 7.2 5.1 1.5 3.4 4.4 3.2 
Finland 18.9 26.7 30.6 25.4 5.0 5.3 7.3 6.0 
Sweden 15.3 20.2 19.4 19.2 7.2 6.1 4.1 5.6 
United Kingdom 19.8 20.9 19.9 20.1 9.3 11.3 6.2 8.0 
EU27 10.1 17.2 19.1 17.0 4.7 6.7 6.5 6.4 
EU15 12.8 18.8 20.7 18.8 5.9 7.2 6.7 6.8 
EU12 2.7 7.4 8.6 6.6 1.4 3.7 4.5 3.2 
Source: DG AGRI Rural development statistical report 2008, European Commission 
Notes: 
– The delimitation of areas is different from the OECD definition: 
 – rural: < 100 hab./km² 
 – suburban: 100 to 500 hab./km² 
 – urban: > 500 hab./km² 
* The change is measured in absolute terms, i.e. th e difference between the % DSL take-up in 2006 and the 
% DSL take-up in 2005. 
 
EN 30   EN Table 3. Appearance of specific commitments to make  investments in ICT with a direct impact on 
businesses and population in rural develop ment programmes 2007–2013 , selected measures 
Member States Programme(s) m 321 m 111 m 311 m 312 m 313 
Austria National X X  X X 
Vlaanderen X     Belgium Wallonie X X X   
Bulgaria National X X  X X 
Cyprus National X     
Czech Republic National  X    
Denmark National X     
Estonia National   X X  
Continental X X X X  Finland Åland Islands X X    
Hexagone X X X  X 
Île de la Réunion      
Martinique  X  X  
Guadeloupe  X    
Guyane      France 
Corse X     
Bayern      
Rheinland-Pfalz X     
Baden-Württemberg      
Hessen X     
Nordrhein-Westfalen X     
Niedersachsen + Bremen X     
Saarland   X   
Hamburg    X   
Schleswig-Holstein  X    
Sachsen-Anhalt X   X X 
Sachsen X     
Thüringen X     
Mecklenburg-Vorp.      
Brandenburg + Berlin  X X X X Germany 
National framework X     
 Network      
Greece National  X    
Hungary National X X  X  
Piemonte X X X X X 
Abruzzo X X   X 
Umbria X X   X 
Marche X X X  X 
Emilia-Romagna  X    
Toscana X X   X 
Friuli-Venezia Giulia      
Veneto X    X 
Trento X  X   
Liguria X X  X X 
Lombardia X X  X X 
Valle d’Aosta X    X 
Bolzano      
Campania  X  X X 
Puglia  X  X X Italy 
Basilicata X X   X 
EN 31   EN Calabria X X    
Sicilia X X  X X 
Sardegna X X  X X 
Molise X X    
Lazio X X   X 
Network       
Ireland National    X X 
Latvia National X X X X  
Lithuania National      
Luxembourg National      
Malta National  X   X 
Netherlands National  X X X  
Poland National  X X X  
Continental  X    
Madeira  X    
Açores X X X X X Portugal 
Network       
Romania National  X  X X 
Slovakia National X X X  X 
Slovenia National   X X  
Aragón  X    
Baleares X X    
Cataluña X X    
La Rioja  X   X 
Madrid  X    
Navarra      
Pais Vasco  X X  X 
Cantabria  X    
Andalucia X X   X 
Asturias X     
Canarias X X X X  
Castilla-La Mancha X X  X X 
Castilla y León      
Valencia  X  X X 
Extremadura X X    
Galicia  X X  X 
Murcia X  X  X 
National framework       Spain 
Network       
Sweden National X X X X X 
England  X   X 
Northern Ireland  X    
Scotland  X X   United Kingdom 
Wales X X   X   
# of RDPs  47 56 21 28 34 
# of MSs  16 20 15 17 13 
Note: “X” = yes       
Note: The rural development framework and network programmes are not taken into account.  
 Integrated measures are covered. Only RDPs that have specified ICT-related actions are 
listed. 
Source: DG Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission 
 
EN 32   EN Table 4. Specific commitments to make ICT invest ments under measure 321 “Basic services for the 
economy and rural population” in Rura l Development Programmes 2007–2013 
Type of action Rural Development Programme 
  
Broadband infrastructure (mostly small-scale; 
e.g. creation of access  to internet,  wireless, etc.)  Austria Sweden BE Vlaanderen 
DE Rheinland DE Niedersachsen DE Nordrhein 
-Pfalz & Bremen -Westfalen 
DE Sachsen Denmark IT Basilicata 
IT Toscana IT Trento IT Valle d’Aosta IT Sicilia IT Piemonte IT Abruzzo 
IT Umbria IT Veneto ES Extremadura 
ES Asturias ES Canarias ES Castilla 
ES Murcia ES Baleares -La Mancha 
ES Cataluña ES Andalucia PT Açores UK Wales FI Continental Hungary 
  
Technical infrastructure (broadband maybe 
possible)  Slovakia *  
  
Centres for ICT based services  (health advice and 
medical care, business support, municipal services, 
other social services)  Bulgaria BE Wallonie FR Hexagone  
FR Corse IT Calabria IT Sardegna 
IT Piemonte IT Abruzzo IT Umbria IT Lombardia Latvia Hungary 
DE Rheinland DE Niedersachsen 
-Pfalz & Bremen  
  
Mobile ICT centres Bulgaria 
  
Youth centres (incl. for free access to internet and 
free IT lessons)  Cyprus 
  
Public internet/communication points DE Thüringen IT Lombardia Latvia 
  
e-Services for rural population and enterprises 
(e-commerce, e-government, etc.) IT Abruzzo IT Umbria IT Marche 
IT Toscana IT Veneto IT Liguria 
IT Sardegna BE Wallonie FR Hexagone 
FI Continental ES Andalucia 
  
Improved use of telematic solutions FI Continental IT Calabria IT Lazio 
  
Development of ICT tools IT Sardegna ES Baleares ES Canarias 
  
Specific actions  
  
Promoting cooperation between enterprises and 
other actors , utilising telematic connections in rural 
areas FI Åland islands 
  
IT equipment for health care professionals FR Hexagone FR Corse 
  
ICT networks FR Hexagone FR Corse IT Molise 
ES Canarias 
  
Internet portals DE Hessen FR Hexagone 
  
IT equipment in small schools DE Sachsen-Anhalt 
  
  
  
EN 33   EN Table 4. (continued)  
  
Information and multimedia laboratories/centres IT Piemonte IT Veneto IT Umbria 
IT Abruzzo IT Sicilia IT Calabria 
IT Sardegna IT Lazio PT Açores 
BE Wallonie 
  
Transport service by telephone calls IT Piemonte 
  
Security of people (reser vations, tele-assistance) IT Piemonte 
  
Teleworking ES Baleares ES CLM UK Wales 
FI Continental 
  
Setting up of tele-services and electronic 
consultation systems ES Canarias 
  
On-line training and e-skills ES Castilla- UK Wales 
La Mancha 
  
Village ICT initiatives  (i.e. provision of word 
processing facilities, publishing software, etc.) UK Wales 
Note: Some of the actions or the measure itself will be implemented through Leader. Integrated measures 
are taken into account. Only RDPs that ha ve specified ICT-related actions are listed. 
* The RDP for Slovakia does not mention explicitly broadband investments. 
Source: DG Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission 
EN 34   EN  
Table 5. Specific commitments for ICT investments under measure 311 “Income diversification” in 
Rural Development Programmes 2007–2013 
Type of action Rural Development Programme 
  
Development of agri-tourism by using ICT BE Wallonie IT Trento 
  
IT services FI Continental Poland ES Galicia 
  
Implementation of new tech nologies for bringing 
the producer and consumer closer, web-sites, 
e-booking, etc. Estonia IT Marche IT Trento 
Netherlands ES Canarias ES Murcia 
FR Hexagone 
  
Assistance in ICT initiatives DE Brandenburg & Berlin 
  
Access and increased use of ICT DE Saarland Slovakia ES Pais Vasco 
UK Scotland IT Piemonte Slovenia 
  
Dissemination and co mmunication tools PT Açores 
  
Computer and related activities  
(except databases)  Latvia 
  
Network Sweden 
Note: Some of the actions or the measure itself will be implemented through Leader. Integrated measures 
are taken into account. Only RDPs that ha ve specified ICT-related actions are listed. 
Source: DG Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission  
EN 35   EN Table 6. Specific commitments for ICT investmen ts under measure 111 “Vocational training and 
information actions for farmers, food indus try and forestry” in Rural Development 
Programmes 2007–2013 
Type of action Rural Development Programme 
Professional training in ICT and 
computer skills Austria BE Wallonie Czech Republic 
Bulgaria FI Continental FI Åland islands 
IT Piemonte IT Marche DE Schleswig-Holstein 
IT Toscana IT Lombardia DE Brandenburg & Berlin IT Campania IT Puglia IT Basilicata 
IT Sicilia IT Molise IT Lazio 
Latvia Malta Poland 
PT Continental PT Madeira PT Açores 
Romania Slovakia ES Aregón ES Baleares ES La Rioja ES Pais Vasco 
ES Cantabria ES Canarias ES Castilla-La Mancha 
ES Extremadura ES Galicia ES Cataluña Hungary UK England UK Scotland 
UK Wales 
  
E-learning Austria FI Continental DE Brandenburg & Berlin 
ES Cataluña Greece IT Liguria IT Lombardia IT Puglia IT Calabria 
IT Sicilia IT Sardegna Malta 
UK Northern  
Ireland 
  
Web portals and web tools Austria IT Abruzzo IT Umbria 
IT Toscana IT Puglia Malta Slovakia 
  
Information activities using ICT BE Wallonie IT Abruzzo IT Umbria 
IT Marche IT Toscana IT Puglia 
IT Sardegna Malta ES Madrid 
ES Andalucia ES Cataluña 
Specific actions  
  
Developing ICT use  in farms  FR Martinique FR Guadeloupe 
  
Data processing DE Schleswig-Holstein 
  
Life-long learning  for groups of rural 
population dealing with the primary sector Greece 
  
Establishment and management of ICT 
resources in farming enterprises  Sweden UK Northern IT Emilia-Romagna 
 Ireland 
  
Increased use of ICT  within enterprise 
administration and for marketing purposes Sweden 
  
Permanent information system  in favour 
of agricultural and rural development IT Calabria 
  
Creation of a network through the 
interactive use of new ICT IT Calabria 
  
Demonstration projects  on the 
improvement of logistic systems and 
information technology Netherlands 
  
EN 36   EN   
Table 6. (continued)  
  
Distance learning ES Valencia ES Cataluña FR Hexagone 
  
Sophisticated knowledge transfer 
systems UK Northern Ireland 
Note: Some of the actions or the measure itself could be implemented through Leader. Integrated measures 
are taken into account. Only RDPs that ha ve specified ICT-related actions are listed. 
Source: DG Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission 
EN 37   EN  
Table 7. Specific commitments for ICT investment s under measure 312 “Creati on of micro-enterprises 
and business development” in Rura l Development Prog rammes 2007–2013 
Type of action Rural Development Programme 
  
ICT based services Bulgaria IT Sardegna IT Puglia 
Poland FI Continental 
  
  
Web portals or implementation of new 
technologies for bringing  the producer and the 
consumer closer (e.g. e- commerce, e-marketing) Austria Estonia IT Piemonte 
IT Liguria IT Lombardia IT Campania 
IT Puglia PT Açores ES Valencia 
UK Wales 
  
  
Development of mobile solutions Estonia 
  
  
Investments in structural improvements, incl. 
communication points FR Martinique IT Liguria IT Lombardia 
DE Brandenburg  
& Berlin 
  
  
Services for connecting and providing internet Romania 
  
  
Cooperation networking DE Hamburg DE Sachsen Sweden 
 -Anhalt 
  
  
Computer and related activities  (except database) Latvia 
  
  
Application of new IT IT Piemonte Hungary Ireland 
ES Canarias Estonia Sweden ES Castilla 
-La Mancha 
  
  
Utilisation of local ICT capacity (e.g. online 
processing of micro-enterprise administrative 
activities)  Ireland 
  
  
New (or improved) acces s to ICT (facilities) Netherlands IT Sicilia Slovenia 
  
  
Micro-businesses in ICT training ES Canarias 
  
Note: Some of the actions or the measure itself will be implemented through Leader. Integrated measures 
are taken into account. Only RDPs that ha ve specified ICT-related actions are listed. 
Source: DG Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission 
EN 38   EN Table 8. Specific commitments for ICT investmen ts under measure 313 “Rural tourism” in Rural 
Development Programmes 2007–2013* 
Type of action Rural Development Programme 
Web portals, electronic booking systems, 
marketing, tourism services, etc. Austria Bulgaria IT Piemonte 
IT Abruzzo IT Umbria IT Marche IT Toscana IT Veneto IT Liguria 
IT Lombardia IT Campania IT Puglia 
IT Sicilia IT Sardegna Ireland Malta Romania ES La Rioja 
ES Pais Vasco ES Castilla ES Valencia 
 -La Mancha 
ES Galicia ES Murcia ES Andalucia 
Sweden UK England Slovakia FR Hexagone 
  
  
Development of ICT services for tourism IT Marche IT Piemonte IT Basilicata 
IT Liguria IT Lombardia IT Toscana IT Lazio Ireland 
  
  
Networking of tourism actors via ICT FR Hexagone DE Sachsen IT Sardegna 
 -Anhalt 
  
  
Tourist information centres * IT Sardegna IT Valle d’Aosta  
  
  
Common structures for tourism purposes DE Brandenburg & Berlin 
  
  
Multimedia and IT services for promotion of 
rural tourism * IT Toscana PT Açores ES Galicia 
  
* Please note that in all RDPs where this measure is open, actions involving investments in information 
centres and promotion of tourism including purchase of hardware and software are considered 
eligible. They are not presented here. 
Note: Some of the actions or the measure itself will be implemented through Leader. Integrated measures 
are taken into account. Only RDPs that ha ve specified ICT-related actions are listed. 
Source: DG Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission 
EN 39   EN Table 9. Specific commitments for ICT investments under measure 33 1 “Training and information for 
the rural population” in Rural Development Programmes 2007–2013* 
Type of action Rural Development Programme 
  
Training in ICT and computer skills Czech Republic FI Continental FR Hexagone 
FR Guadeloupe FR Corse IT Piemonte Ireland Luxembourg Slovakia 
ES Castilla ES Canarias 
-La Mancha 
  
  
On-line training and e-learning FI Continental IT Marche IT Veneto 
ES CLM IT Liguria IT Campania 
Ireland 
  
  
Dissemination of information by using in 
particular ICT FI Continental FR Corse Luxembourg 
 
  
  
Distance learning Ireland ES Castilla-La Mancha 
  
  
Mobile training solutions Ireland 
  
* Please note that certain RDPs which have programmed this measure have not opted for a detailed 
description of the training to be provided under it. 
Note: Some of the actions or the measure itself will be implemented through Leader. Integrated measures 
are taken into account. Only RDPs that ha ve specified ICT-related actions are listed. 
Source: DG Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission 
EN 40   EN Figure 1. DSL coverage in rural areas and share of  population having a DSL internet subscription in 
rural areas, as of December 2007, % 
UK
SEFI
SKSI
PT
PLATNL
HULU
LTLVITFR
ES
IEDEDK
CZBE
0,05,010,015,020,025,0
0,0 10,0 20,0 30,0 40,0 50,0 60,0 70,0 80,0 90,0 100,0
Rural DSL coverage in 2007 (%)Rural DSL take-up in 2007 (% )
 
Note: Complete data for Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estoni a, Greece, Malta and Romania is not available. 
Source: Rural development statistical report 2008, European Commission 
EN 41   EN  
Figure 2. DSL coverage in different areas in the EU27, Dec 2007, % of total territory with DSL coverage 
0,010,020,030,040,050,060,070,080,090,0100,0
CY MT SK PL EL LV LT EE IE CZ HU A T IT SI PT DE ES SE FI UK FR NL BE DK LU
Rural Suburban Urban
 
Note: No data for rural areas in Malta and Cyprus 
Source: Rural development statistical report 2008, European Commission  
EN 42   EN Figure 3. Change in the DSL coverage in the variou s areas in selected MS, 2007 to 2005, difference 
between both years, % 
0,010,020,030,040,050,060,070,080,090,0
DE IE EL ES FR IT CY LT HU A T PT SI SK FI SE UKRural Suburban Urban National
 
Note: Countries with 100% coverage and countries for which data was not available are not displayed  
Source: Based on data from the Rural development statistical report 2008, European Commission 
EN 43   EN  
Figure 4. Change in the share of population having a DSL internet subscription in the EU27 MSs, 2007 to 
2005, difference between both years, % 
0,02,04,06,08,010,012,014,0
BECZ DK DEIEES FRITCY LTLUHU MT NLAT PLPT SISK FISEUKEU27
EU15 EU12
Rural Suburban Urban National
 
Note: Countries for which data was not available are not displayed. 
Source: Based on data from the Rural development statistical report 2008, European Commission  
EN 44   EN Figure 5. Households in EU25 using broadb and by population density, %, 2004–2007 
18273848
233142
6152235
01530456075
2004 2005 2006 2007
Densely populated areas Intermediate populated areas Thinly populated areas
 
Source: 2007 Eurostat ICT household survey (extraction on 20 October 2008), Eurostat, European Commission 
EN 45   EN  
Figure 6. Relative broadband gap in 2007, th inly populated areas as % of urban areas 
110
9796
9493
868684
797676
696868
60
56545453535150
44
34
3027
96972
020406080100120
LU
MT
NLFR
UKDK
SEBE
FI
DE
ATSK
SI
EE
CZ
PL
LV
ES
PT
HU
EL
IT
LT
CY
IE
BGRO
EU27EU25  
Source: 2007 Eurostat ICT household survey (extraction on 20 October 2008), Eurostat, European Commission