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}
Date: 2009-03-03
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: access to information, development aid, information technology, rural population, rural region

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN 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} 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Information  and  Communication  Technology  (ICT)  has  transformed  the  socio-economic 
environment  of  the  EU  over  the  last  decade.  The  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  ICT  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  with  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  advancing  in  the  use  of  ICT  to  deliver  such 
services efficiently in education, health and public administration2. 

ICT in general is highly relevant to improving the competitiveness of agriculture and forestry 
and improving quality of life and diversification of the rural economy. High-quality internet 
access is one of the tools which can unlock more of the potential of rural areas and make them 
more  viable  places  for  people  to  live.  ICT  helps  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 new businesses to start up, and it makes it easier to 
deliver vital resources. Entrepreneurship and economic progress in rural areas could be strong 
if the economic environment is favourable3. 

Despite the progress made in recent years, significant differences still 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  broadband  connection  as  opposed  to  98%  of  the 
population in urban areas. The bulk of the rural population receives poorer services at higher 
costs. 

The  Commission  has  assigned  a  central  role  to  the  development  of  on-line  services  in  the 
eEurope 2005 and i2010 initiatives. The characteristics 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 services. Clearly rural broadband connectivity will 
have a bearing on the uptake of on-line services (for example, webcasting Council meetings). 
The delivery of these services will require further planning, provision and support for training, 
connectivity and equipment4. 

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COM(2005) 229, 1.6.2005. 
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. 
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. 
Study on availability of access to computer networks in rural areas (SAACNRA), page 61. 

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This  Annex  supplements  the  joint  Communication  between  DG  Agriculture  and  Rural 
Development  and  DG  Information  Society  and  Media  to  the  Council  and  the  European 
Parliament on 'Better access for rural areas to modern ICT' by presenting in detail the current 
state  of  ICT  development  in  rural  areas,  the  situation  as  described  by  Member  States  and 
regions  in  their  rural  development  programmes  (RDPs)  2007–2013,  the  way  in  which  rural 
development approaches the problem 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 applications and quality of service in rural areas 
are also lower. 

This section describes the existing urban-rural gap using the only two data sources available 
at  EU  level,  namely  the  Idate  data  on  broadband  coverage  and  the  Eurostat  Community 
Survey on ICT usage in households and by individuals. 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 differ 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 will 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 densely populated areas, and that 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 for 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). 

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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. 
The Eurostat methodology is based on the degree of urbanisation. 
The analysis in this sub-section is based on Idate data. 
For the purpose of consistency with previous policy documents, we will call the “"sub-urban” areas – 
intermediate areas, although the Idate’s methodology defines them more widely than the OECD. 

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In  about  one  third  of  the  EU27  MSs,  rural  broadband  coverage  is  below  80%.  These  are 
mostly  new  Member  States  such  as  Slovakia  (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,  namely  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  structural  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% for the EU15 and 10.1% for 
the EU27. Most importantly, these three indicators for rural areas remain significantly below 
the urban levels, which was 8.6% for the EU12, 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 countries where rural take-up is the highest, reaching 
the maximum registered 21.1% in France and 20.9% in the Netherlands. 

As  regards  the  growth  in  coverage  and  take-up  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 coverage 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 depicted in Figure 3. Slovenia has the highest 
growth  in  coverage  of  rural  areas  over  the  last  three  years  (216.7%),  followed  by  Italy 
(83.2%), Slovakia (54.2%), Sweden (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 sluggishly. 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% versus 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  development,  the  gap  between  best  and  worst 
performing regions and countries is widening9. As regards quality of the service, rural areas 

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COM(2007) 803 final. 

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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 data confirms the situation outlined 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  densely  populated  areas  remains  the  same 
(12-13  points;  from  6  and  18%  in  2004  respectively  for  thinly  populated  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, Portugal and Spain also having difficulties in ensuring high levels of 
internet  usage  in  thinly  populated  areas  (Figure  6).  Importantly,  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 
DIFFICULTIES

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Overall, Member States and regions have recognised 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  information  confirm  the  significant  differences 
between  MSs  and  regions,  and  between  urban  and  rural  areas.  Significant  disparities  exist 
even between regions within a given Member State. 

As  regards  the  ICT  situation  in  rural  areas,  about  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 MSs and 44 RDPs), rate it as average. 

Member  States  and  regions  that  have  developed  sufficient  broadband  coverage  (at  least  in 
DSL) are now strongly focusing on the development of services for the rural population and 
businesses. At the same time, those that are still behind in their infrastructural 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 connections, several Member States continue to 
invest in ICT mostly for the development of services for the population 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  services  and  the  availability  of 

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COM(2006) 129, 20.3.2006. 
SEC(2007) 395 annexed to COM(2007) 146, 30.3.2007. 
This section is based on information derived from the rural development programmes of Member States 
and regions for the new programming period 2007–2013. 
Six  rural  development  programmes  are  framework  and  network  programmes.  They  are  not  counted 
here. 

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connections,  while  France  is  targeting  the  improvement  of  services  quality  (e-government, 
home e-service, etc.) with additional stress on the benefits of networking.  

More efficient and equitable access for the rural 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 Galicia (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  competitiveness  is  to  be  supported  through  the 
development  of  skills,  know-how  and  learning,  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  broadband  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 compared to urban areas, with a number of factors determining the 
low levels of ICT indicators in Europe’s rural areas.  

Broadband  coverage  in  rural  areas  is  particularly  low  because  of  local  geographical 
specificities  and  the  related  high  costs  for  maintaining  the  network  infrastructure  as 
recognised, for example, by Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. In specific cases, there 
are  no  technical  facilities  in  the  rural  areas  for  using  broadband  and  having  internet 
connection (Lithuania).  

In Finland, the construction of broadband connections 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  horizontal  strategic  priority  in  rural  development,  internet  and 
computer networks are already widely used tools, 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. Additionally, there are still extensive parts of the 
rural areas that lack coverage for mobile communication.  

In Slovakia, the availability of broadband remains low, particularly in the rugged parts of the 
country  that  mainly  comprise  rural  settlements  with  low  population  density,  while  in 
Romania,  high  costs  in  rural  areas  are  determined  by  the  lack  of  fixed  telephony 
infrastructure.  In  addition,  wireless  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 induced by the competitive offers of mobile service 
providers, apart from the higher costs of having a landline. 

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In  Italy,  regions  often  underline  that  the  supply  of  broadband  connection  in  mountainous, 
hilly,  coastal  and  inner  rural  areas  is  either  missing  or  problematic  and  more  costly. 
Difficulties in the broadband development of the hilly and mountainous areas can be seen, for 
example, in Abruzzo, Marche, Campania and Molise. 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 Piemonte, 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  wireless  connections  (e.g.  Trento,  Friuli-Venezia 
Giulia). 

Demand for better infrastructure exists also in the big islands, especially in the areas that are 
far from the residential centres and where 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  not  yet  sufficient.  This  remains  one  of  the 
challenges for the future.  

Often,  the  ambition  to  extend  broadband  in  general  is  hindered  in  some  rural  areas  by 
insufficient capacity (e.g. Sweden, Schleswig-Holstein). 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 internet take-up, especially in 
countries which have to catch up economically (e.g. Bulgaria, 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  municipal  centres)  is  also 
extremely  low.  Comparable  to  Bulgaria  is  the  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  provision  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-up  is  behind  that  of  densely  populated  areas. 
Nonetheless, in certain rural areas demand over the last years has steadily 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  Hungary.  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.  

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In Hungary, only 32% of all Hungarian farmers had computers and just 28% used the internet 
in 2004. In addition, only 58.7% of agricultural entrepreneurs have access to the internet, far 
below  the  country's  average  of  76.2%.  In  Cyprus,  in  specific  sectors  such  as  organised 
livestock-farming  units  and  modern  food  industries  ICT  is  well  placed,  but  there  are 
considerable setbacks in agricultural holdings, which fall far short in this area. 

Based  on  similar  reasoning,  Portugal  sets  objectives  for  raising  the  use  of  modern 
technologies  in  the  farm  sector,  while  Finland  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 agricultural 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 agricultural 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 enterprises continue to dominate 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  entrepreneurs  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  significantly  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  “influences”  promoting  the  use  of  ICT  such  as 
advertising.  Micro-businesses  are  particularly  disadvantaged.  In  addition,  smaller  rural 
businesses are more likely to use low-speed internet 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  effectively.  The  UK  has  identified  sustainable  rural 
tourism  business  development  as  a  priority  area  for  actions,  like  in  Austria  where 
development of SMEs which rely on supra-regional 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  measures,  outside  the  options  provided  by  the 
Community policies and instruments, to address existing problems. 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). 

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Federal  support  also  plays  a  significant  role  in  certain  German  regions.  For  example  in 
Saarland, in 2005–2008 a federal programme under the 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  (above  50  years  old)  and  people  with  low  job 
qualifications. Women and the rural population were also targeted. 

Apart  from  this,  in  2008  the  Commission  approved  an  amendment  to the  German  national 
framework programme to allow support for improving 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 grant of state aid needs to comply with the state 
aid  rules.  The  Commission  has  noted  in  several  cases  that  measures  aimed  at  promoting 
widespread  availability  and  use  of  broadband  services  do  not  fall  under  any  of  the  existing 
frameworks and guidelines. Therefore, if a public initiative 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  criteria  and  modalities  of  use  of  Structural  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 concerning state aid to broadband.15 

State  aid  rules  encourage  well-designed  public  measures  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 use 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-proven market failure, and where there is no 
alternative  to  granting  public  funding  to  overcome  the  lack  of  broadband  connectivity,  the 
public support is proportional so as to avoid crowding out or discouraging private investments 
or  unduly  restricting  competition.  Certain  types  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. 

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See Commission Decision C(2008) 3157 of 02 July 2008 approving the related state aid scheme. 
Further explanations concerning application of the 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 
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. 
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 OJ L 379, 28.12.2006. 

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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  areas  and  in  the  skills  upgrading  of  the  rural 
population, including farmers, has been strongly 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  eligible  in  all  programmes  and  in  all  measures, 
where their use is relevant. Because of this, such investments are excluded from the analysis. 

Investments in broadband infrastructure are concentrated in the measure for developing basic 
services  for  the  rural  population  and  economy  under  Axis  3  of  rural  development.  Products 
and services, on the contrary, are covered by more than 10 measures from all axes, including 
that on basic services, and the most important 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 where non-ICT related investments 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 basic services in rural 
development.19  In  the  current  period  2007–2013  in  almost  a  third  of  the  RDPs  EAFRD 
support for infrastructural broadband projects in rural areas will be provided20. 

In  more  than  half  of  the  RDPs  (47  RDPs  of  16  MSs)  direct  actions  on  ICT  (including 
broadband)  targeting  the  creation  of  basic  ICT  infrastructure  and  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, Piemonte, Veneto, Umbria; the 
German  regions  Niedersachsen  and  Bremen,  Sachsen,  Rheinland-Pfalz;  the  Spanish  regions 
Asturias,  Andalucia,  Canarias,  Baleares,  Extremadura  and  Murcia;  Vlaanderen  in  Belgium, 
etc.;  Table  4).  In  addition,  Bulgaria  intends  to  invest  in  mobile  ICT  centres,  and  Latvia, 
Lombardia (IT) and Thüringen (DE) in public internet/communication points. 

Centres  for  ICT-based  services  will  be  developed  by  7  MSs  or  some  of  their  regions 
(Bulgaria,  France,  Hungary,  Latvia,  five  Italian  regions,  Wallonie  (BE),  Niedersachsen  and 
Bremen (DE) and Rheinland-Pfalz (DE)), with Rheinland-Pfalz (DE) and Cyprus planning the 
establishment  of  youth  centres  with  free  access  to  the  internet  and  free  IT  lessons.  Seven 
Italian  regions  (Abruzzo,  Umbria,  Marche,  Toscana,  Veneto,  Liguria,  Sardegna)  have 

18 

19 

20 

Owning to the specificity of the legislation, several 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 commitments have been specified are counted. 
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). 
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. 

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specifically  targeted  the  development  of  e-government  services  as  has  Wallonie  (BE). 
Improved use of telematic solutions and development of ICT tools (in general) are specifically 
on the agenda of 6 RDPs. 

Specific  actions  reflecting  local  broadband  and  internet  conditions  and  situations  have  also 
been  committed.  For  example,  France  and  Corse  (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  other  hand,  has  scheduled  rural  development 
support  for  the  purchase  and  setting-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  and  other  actors  in  rural  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 Canarias) transport services operated by telephone as 
well as tele-assistance (IT Piemonte), tele-working (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 for 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 basic services, for which a total of €2.7 billion will 
be spent. It is impossible to identify the spending 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  fluctuations,  attract  more  people  into  rural  areas,  create  a  basis  for 
preventing the process of depopulation and enrich 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 widespread actions leading to the development of 
agri-tourism.  IT  services  for  the  rural  population  are  envisaged,  for  example,  by  Finland, 
Poland  and  Galicia  (ES).  Brandenburg  and  Berlin  (DE)  plan  investments  for  assistance 
provided by farmers in ICT initiatives, Sweden 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 support the increased use of ICT in non-farming 
businesses. 

Total investments for farm diversification, which also include actions linked to development 
of ICT products and services, will amount to €1.4 billion under the EAFRD. 

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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  measures  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 investments given the variety of agricultural sub-sectors 
and the many types of investments that can take place, it is worth mentioning that the stated 
objectives of many MSs for equipping farmers with computers and modern technologies, and 
as a result their networking, will be supported in the current programming period. 

Over  the  period  2007–2013,  in  total  about  €9.6  billion  will  be  provided  from  the  EAFRD 
(10.5%  of  the  overall  EAFRD  budget)  for  modernising  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 invested for adding value to products. 

4.4. 

Vocational training and upgrading of human capital in agriculture, forestry and 
the food industry 

The modernisation of EU agriculture goes hand-in-hand with upgrading of the knowledge of 
farmers and their abilities to cope with the changing market and policy environment, ongoing 
reforms of the CAP and economic market challenges. 

Commitments on vocational training are made by all MSs and all RDPs, with about 20 MSs 
(in 56 RDPs) specifically mentioning various types of ICT training among their priority fields 
for support. 

Among all initiatives, professional training in ICT and computer skills 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  instance,  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  supported  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  resources  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 sophisticated knowledge transfer systems. 

As  regards  information  actions,  several  examples  could  be  given.  Permanent  information 
systems  favouring  agricultural  and  rural  development  will  be  further  developed  in  Calabria 
(IT) as well as the creation of a network through the interactive use of new ICT. Information 
activities  using  ICT  will  be  carried  out  by  Wallonie  (BE),  Malta,  Madrid  (ES)  and  several 

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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-enterprises and business development 

Micro-enterprises  and  rural  off-farm  businesses  will  also  benefit  substantially  when  it 
comes  to  the  development  of  IT.  Specific  actions  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 bookkeeping, 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 producers 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  providing  ICT-based  services  (Bulgaria,  Sardegna  and  Puglia 
(IT),  Poland,  Finland)  and 
the 
establishment  of  communication  points  (Lombardia  (IT)  and  Liguria  (IT),  Brandenburg-
Berlin (DE)). Romania will support services for connecting and providing internet. 

improvements, 

in  structural 

investments 

including 

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, including 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  ICT  will  contribute  to  rural  tourism  mainly 
through the creation of websites for marketing and e-booking, tourist web 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 information 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  (DE).  Such  networking  could  allow  the  easy 
transfer of innovation, information and communication between the parties. 

For the overall objective of developing 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  environmental  use  of  current  technologies,  and 
ICT  is  no  longer  used  separately  and  only  for  economic  purposes.  This  is  evident  from  the 
planned  investments  in  forest  fire  tele-detection  systems,  forest  fire  monitoring  systems, 
communication equipment (for prevention of forest fires) and networking (14 RDPs). 

Such  investments  will  be  made  in  the  current  programming  period  under  the  measure  for 
“Restoring forestry potential and introducing prevention actions”, where a total of €1.6 billion 
will be spent (this funding covers also a wide range of other activities, apart from those linked 
to ICT). 

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However,  it  could  be  noted  that  there  is  scope  for  further  development  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  Development  has  confirmed  that  rural  areas  have  been  skills  and 
knowledge out-drained mostly by the out-migration of young people to cities and urban areas. 
This holds especially for the new MSs. As a result 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  network  development  becomes  a  necessity  for 
local communities. 

Skills development and upgrading of farmers, foresters and food processors receives special 
attention  in  the  current  programming  period.  However,  the  rural  population  that  is  not 
involved in farming, forestry or food processing can also benefit 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 training in ICT and computer skills, through distance 
learning, on-line training and e-learning, to the establishment of mobile training solutions. 

Training in ICT for rural inhabitants is also explicitly envisaged, for example, in  the Czech 
Republic,  France,  Finland,  Luxembourg,  Slovakia  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 inhabitants, are the investments in networks in 
public buildings, training and information on environmental 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  conservation  of  biodiversity  resources,  e-commerce  for 
improving  the  economic  value  of  forests,  for  provision  of  advisory  services,  e-information 
and promotion of producer groups, support for meeting standards on electronic identification 
of livestock (for example, purchase of electronic devices for sheep and goats), etc. National 
and regional web portals for the rural development 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 Local Action Groups (LAGs) can create and develop 
for the benefit of their area and 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.  Innovative  communication  technologies  in  addressing 
tourism,  productive  sectors,  the  environment  and  cultural  assets  will  be  implemented,  and 
innovative  actions  (e.g.  e-governance,  communication)  in  transnational  and  inter-territorial 
cooperation, training, access to the internet, etc. are other aspects to be developed. 

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5. 

COHESION  POLICY  INVESTMENTS  FOR  BROADBAND  COVERAGE,  E-PRODUCTS  AND 
E-SERVICES 

Cohesion policy finds 

The  Cohesion  policy  funds  will  continue  to  develop  broadband  infrastructure  in  rural  areas 
and to support products and services in general. 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 services and the strategic use of ICT constitute one of the main 
drivers  for  economic  growth,  social  development  and  inclusion.  They  are  a  key  force  for 
improving  quality  of  life  and  redressing  the  balance  between  urban  and  rural  areas.  This 
message  is  reflected  in  the  Community  strategic  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 and/or regions have opted, for 
example,  to  develop  their  broadband  infrastructure  entirely  through  the  Structural  Funds, 
while  keeping  EAFRD  support  vital  for  investments  in  products  and  services  (Lithuania, 
Belgium, Finland, many German regions, Greece, Portugal, several Italian, Spanish and UK 
regions, etc.). 

Overall,  of  the  total  €344.4  billion  Community  funding  under  the  three  Objectives  (namely 
Convergence,  Regional  competitiveness  and  employment,  and  European 
territorial 
cooperation),  some  4.4%  (€15.3  billion)  will  be  used  in  the  current  programming  period 
2007–2013  for  investments  in  the  information  society,  of  which  about  three  quarters  for 
products  and  service  development,  and  the  rest  for  infrastructure.  Within  the  product  and 
services  domain,  support  for  investments  will  target  information  and  communication 
technologies,  services  and  applications  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  infrastructure  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 more 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 connections between regions” are meant to reinforce 
the capacity of regional authorities to plan, manage and implement ICT strategies and projects 
that support EU policy objectives in the context of the digital divide, 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  efficient,  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 the Study on “Availability of access to computer 

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networks  in  rural  areas”.  For  example,  the  Wireless  Connections  in  the  Archipelago,  the 
Limousin Regional Network, the Rural Area Interconnection 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 
infrastructure,  mainly  broadband 
common  factor,  namely 
communications, to bridge the broadband gap. 

the  deployment  of  ICT 

European Social Fund 

Investments  under  the  ESF  will  also  target  the  creation,  development  and  upgrading  of 
e-skills among the rural 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  five  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, enhancing access to employment, reinforcing social 
inclusion  and  enhancing  human  capital.  However,  in  most  cases  ICT  training  is  supported 
horizontally  across  the  country,  and  often  references  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 rural non-agricultural and non-forestry businesses 
(e.g.  Bulgaria).  In  the  Czech  Republic,  support  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,  age,  gender,  etc.  In  this  context,  the  ESF  will  contribute  to  the 
implementation  of  the  programme  by  helping  people  to  acquire  the  skills  they  need  to  use 
public  electronic  services.  Priority  will  be  given  to  people  over  45  years  of  age  and  people 
living in rural areas. 

In Germany, some nine regions will promote vocational training, which in principle includes 
support  for  raising  e-skills  in  rural  areas.  In  Slovakia  efforts  will  be  focused  on  improving 
educational  levels  of  disadvantaged  groups.  In  Aragon  (ES),  the  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. 

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6. 

IMPACTS OF THE INTRODUCTION OF ICT IN RURAL AREAS

21 

The SAANCRA study commissioned by DG Agriculture 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  attention  here  on  the  EU  case  studies,  which  are  analysed 
further. 

The set of good practices shows the variety of effects that the introduction of ICT can have on 
farms, food industries, non-agricultural businesses, 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 projects developed in the EU22. Projects cover the three major areas of 
rural  development  intervention  (farm,  forestry  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,  which  shows  the  inter-linkage 
between  the  bottom-up  approach  and  the  three  major  priorities  of  rural  development. 
However, the SFs, rural development funding and funding under the research agenda of the 
Community represented by the 6th 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 commercial activities. 

It is worth mentioning that examples of transnational projects (i.e. projects developed in more 
than  one  country)  or  projects  whose  product  has  been  tested  in  all  the  project’s  partner 
countries  could  also  be  displayed..  These  have  significant  positive  transnational  spill-over 
effects and show how a large area can benefit from a single initiative developed 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  infrastructural  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  particular,  the  creation  of 
conditions  for  generating  growth  and  reducing  costs  can  be  essential.  In  certain  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  introduction  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 types within certain agri-food chains. Experience 
shows that even the most traditional 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 

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This  section  draws  on  the  information  collected  by  the  external  consultant  in  the  framework  of  the 
Study  on  Availability  of  Access  to  Computer  Networks  in  Rural  Areas  (SAACNRA).  The  European 
Commission can not be held responsible if this information is incomplete or inaccurate. 
In some of these projects, one or more of the partners are from a non-EU country (e.g. Norway). 

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was  provided  to  about  100  small  farmers  and  producers  in  remote  rural  areas  to  sustain  a 
thriving international business with an extensive product range. ICT and access to the internet 
were used as tools supporting, on the one hand, 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 with active participation at international events 
and  fairs,  has  substantially  increased  the  volumes  of  products  sold  and  the  net  gains  of  the 
cooperative and its members. 

The importance of web portals for promoting organic production is demonstrated also in the 
case  of  the  Organic-Denmark  project  (Denmark),  where  about  3 000  farmers  producing 
organic food gained the opportunity 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  created  as  a  response  mostly  to  growing  market 
pressure  (S’Astra,  Italy;  Impecta,  Sweden;  NetBrokers,  Poland)  or  as  a  result  of  consumers 
switching  to  online  services  (Rotalde,  Spain)  instead  of  traditional  methods  of  maintaining 
relationships and performing transactions with their suppliers. 

Such  trading  platforms  also  represent  a  dynamic  means  of  exchanging  of  information  and 
meeting trade offers. They can further develop in online financial transactions.  

Farmers and food processors who need to trade on internet platforms may become a driving 
force behind the infrastructural broadband developments in rural areas, as shown by Impecta 
(Sweden),  where  local  authorities  and  telecommunication  companies  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  buildings  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 community (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, interviews, 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  further  enriches  the  range  of  choice  for  the  final 
client and brings producers and consumers closer together. 

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Farm and rural tourism  

The Commission's rural development statistical report 2008 clearly identifies rural tourism as 
one of the major off-farm activities conducted by EU farmers and six 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  infrastructure  where  access  to  the  internet  is  hugely 
disadvantaged or absent. The project Dolina Czarnej (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 the internet was lacking in the 
region.  The  created  electronic  platform  and  the  established  mobile  communication  network 
have  resulted  in  easier  exchange  of  information  between  the  farms  providing  agro-tourism 
services, a cheap, fast and easy-to-access advertising channel and greater interest in the region 
leading to higher numbers of bookings and visits. 

The Ammarnäs project (Sweden) further shows how village (community) web portals where 
natural  and  cultural  heritage  is  collectively  marketed,  and  local  socio-economic  agents  are 
promoted,  can  generate  economic  effects.  It  has  attracted  more  tourists,  it  has  reduced 
transaction  costs  for  reservations  and  bookings  (done  previously  via  telephone  or  post)  and 
shifted  them  almost  100%  online,  all  this  leading  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 several 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 ICT can act as a mechanism for 
fostering the development of areas that experience difficulties in obtaining sufficient numbers 
of  tourists  and  face  high  transaction  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  marketing,  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  marketing  and  online  availability  of  their 
services.  Similar  benefits  were  enjoyed  by  a  mountainous  farmhouse  providing  tourist 
accommodation  in  Slovenia  (“Turisticna  kmetja  Metul”)  after  launching  its  online  booking 
system, as well as by the Cumberland Hotel (Alston, UK). 

Training and information for farmers 

One  important  aspect  contributing  to  better  performance  of  farmers  as  producers  and 
managers is their ability to take fast and correct decisions as well as to implement production 
practices  and  technological  processes  in  a  way  that  ensures  their  sustainable  development. 
Skills upgrading is a major factor in achieving these objectives. 

Developing  IT  competence  among  the  farm  community  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 

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benefits  of  the  knowledge  upgrade  can  be  seen  in  the  Ballyhoura  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 have 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  project  (ICT  for  farmers,  ICT  for  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 access 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 projects 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  communities  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’ awareness in these four countries is raised by 10% 
through the project. The existence of such platforms may also provide incentives to farmers to 
start using computers and the internet. 

Other  projects,  such  as  Rural  Living  Lab  (Hungary),  have  developed  wireless  solutions  for 
rural  farmers  and  producers  in  Hungary,  and  their  family  or  micro-enterprises,  involved  in 
agricultural  production,  affording  them  direct  access  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 industries, has targeted the promotion of the area and 
local  (agricultural  and  food-processing)  businesses  around  certain  seasonal  events  and 
industries. 

Farm innovation 

Many  ICT  projects  in  agriculture  are  innovative.  One  example  is  the  project  that  has 
introduced  ICT  in  the  sheep-milk  sector  in  the  Basque  region  (Spain).  There,  22  shepherds 
and  cheese  makers  were  provided  with  laptops  and  web  applications  developed  to  manage 
their  business.  Additionally,  technical  support  was  provided  together  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. 

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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 combine 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  impact  these  aspects  might  have  on  their  farm 
business.  The  effects  achieved  can  vary  and  depend  on  the  scale  of  use  of  the  practice,  but 
references to better time management and planning, optimal use of fertilizers and other inputs 
as well as reduced negative environmental effects could easily be listed. 

The  Prefarm  project  system  now  covers  about  300 000  ha  of  agricultural  land  and  about 
500 users have been identified. Coming as a solution 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 industry with a focus on 
new  development,  testing  and  exploitation  of  services  and  technologies  for  spatial  data 
management  in  rural  areas,  covering  agriculture,  forestry,  emergency  systems,  logistics  and 
public administration. 

6.2. 

Benefits for the rural economy, environment 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 partnerships have proven successful. 

The  development  of  broadband  infrastructure  in  rural  areas  close  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  fewer  (if  any)  applications  are 
provided  to  (potential)  beneficiaries  and  the  infrastructure  is  less  developed.  There  is  still 
more  to  be  done  in  these  areas,  which  leaves  a  lot  of  economic  opportunities  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  developed  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  Baltic  rural  broadband  project  (Finland),  and 
Cahersiveen Satellite Broadband (Ireland). Broadband projects have also been implemented in 
isolated, remote or mountainous rural areas, where providers were not interested in investing 

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owing to high costs and low numbers of potential 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 has been delivered also in cases where national 
and/or  local  authorities  have  focused  on  networking  of  public  administrations  (RAIN, 
Lithuania)  or  when  a  good  quality  communication  system  has  been  provided  via  Public 
Internet  Access  Points  (Zielonka,  Poland;  Rude,  Portugal;  Ikonk@,  Poland;  I-Centre, 
Bulgaria;  Corsica  hotspot,  France;  Look@World,  Estonia),  mostly  accommodated  in  public 
libraries, but also in museums, local administrative buildings, etc. The total number of public 
internet  access  points  created  under  the  aforementioned  projects  amount  to  some  3 961  and 
the  RAIN  project  has  spread  broadband  to  about  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;  Rural  information  system  for  the  LAG  Platani 
Quisquina,  Italy;  Baltic  rural  broadband  project,  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  determine  the  possibilities  for  using  one  or  other 
technology  and  the  potential  impacts  and  benefits  from  the  introduction  of  the  new 
connection. In Cyprus, the Diadigite project conducted research on personal and domestic use 
of the internet with the aim of developing a strategy 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 certain 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 fact excluded. Such results inevitably improve the 
impacts of the projects and focus their targeting and implementation better. 

The Rural information system for the LAG Platani 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 region. In searching for solutions, the project managed to build on 
the  national  government  broadband  strategy  to  make  it  a  regional  shared-service  strategy, 
followed  by  a  strategic  value-case  analysis  quantifying  the  future  impact  of  the  technology, 
and  finally  to  introduce  a  wireless  mesh  network  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  communities,  shared  services  will  bring  government 
closer  to  people  and  businesses,  and  a  positive  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 who manage to keep their jobs thanks to the 
broadband development, productivity benefits generated by more efficient businesses having 
access  to  broadband-based  internet  business  solutions,  public  administration  benefits 
displayed  in  increased  productivity  and  transaction  cost  savings  from  fully  scaled  regional 
shared public services including intranet, e-procurement, intranet connectivity to schools, and 
e-health. 

23 

Data for the number of internet access points created by Rude (Portugal) has not been provided by the 
consultants.  

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Social  benefits  can  be  achieved  when  investments  in  broadband  are  simultaneously 
accompanied  by  investments  in  applications  such  as  home-care  and  monitoring  systems  for 
example.  The broadband  development in Zielonka (Poland) has gone hand-in-hand with the 
creation  of  a  security  monitoring  system  with  cameras,  which  has  increased  security  in  the 
town.  In  Nuenen  (the  Netherlands)  the  network  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 areas can also lead to benefits 
for rural areas in terms of creation of broadband infrastructure. The example of DBTG (North 
West,  UK)  demonstrates  that  a  rural  area  can  attract  businesses  by  offering  less  expensive 
conditions for them to operate, invest and grow. 

Whether for existing or relocating businesses, the development of local 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 connections 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,  Project  Access  (UK)  has  lifted  take-up  rates  in 
Cumbria  from the lowest registered broadband take-up in the region to the highest. Internet 
usage in homes has quintupled (from 7% to 36%) and by businesses 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 average (0.6% above) has been registered. 

Training, promotion and information 

Developing  broadband  without  potential  beneficiaries  who  have  the  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  attending  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 framework of the CRISP project (Ireland) where courses 
additionally  targeted  digital  photography,  computerised  accounting  and  website  design.  The 
underlying idea behind this multi-targeting of subjects and participants was the uneven take-
up  of  ICT  in  rural  areas  which  the  project  aimed  to  turn  into  a  coherent  network  giving 
expression  also  to  the  local  voice  of  the  people.  The  latter  has  been  achieved  by  creating  a 
local website, that is kept updated, and by requesting local people to contribute with articles 
or any other information to its content. 

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Higher take-up has been also the purpose of I-Centre (Bulgaria) and Look@World (Estonia), 
the latter of which, for example, aimed to create 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 rural areas have received training. 

Introducing  modern  technologies  to  the  rural  population  is  often  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  they  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 games and digital video area for young people and 
children. In total some 3 000 people have visited the exhibition. 

A considerable boost in the information flows to rural citizens could 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 the local municipality 
and  the  county  council.  In  addition,  information  on  EU  policies  and  institutions,  access  to 
decisions  and  official  documents,  guidance  concerning  Romanian  laws,  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 improving the process of information processing and its delivery 
to the local population. 

Renewable energy 

The  internet  can  be  a  useful  tool  for  promoting  renewable  energy.  For  example,  Pro-Bio-
Energy (Germany) has developed a virtual marketplace for bio-energy and has promoted the 
replacement  of  fossil  fuels  with  local  and  regional  biomass  production,  in  all  the  project’s 
partner countries (Sweden, Denmark, the UK, Germany and Norway). 

E-commerce 

Like  farmers  and  food  processors,  non-agricultural  businesses  in  rural  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 bookshop in Slovakia with 
about 140 000 visitors a month, and this following an investment of some €2 000. It is a good 
example  of  how  certain  businesses  in  rural  areas,  when  fulfilling  their  local  potential,  can 
expand and grow, and add to the economic performance 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 back 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  itself.  The  school  furthermore  stopped  using  other 
media for promoting its activities, once a smoothly running website had been launched. 

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Jobs and growth 

The cases discussed in this section present sufficient 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  whole  areas  and  their 
economy, a few more examples can be provided. 

The “Team International” project (Ireland) is a particular case 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 predominantly rural area as a small rural enterprise, 
but its services (translation, localisation, interpreting, proof-reading and abstracting in a large 
number  of  languages)  are  now  provided  by  more  than  750  freelance  e-workers,  working  at 
home but operating in a culture of effective project management. The project has overcome 
distances and geographical disadvantages, and has minimised as much as possible the impact 
of  personal  circumstances  as  contacts  take  place  via  the  internet.  However,  customers  are 
provided with complete services from project management to processing procedures, through 
quality assurance, confidentiality/non-disclosure agreements and copyright. 

Environmental awareness raising 

Direct  and  indirect  environmental  effects  have  been  achieved  through  many  projects,  and 
several  of  those  presented  in  the  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 sustainability aspects in Vysočina (the 
Czech  Republic),  for  example,  is  using  an  innovative  web-based  infrastructure  that  allows 
local environmental data to be shared across Europe using methods based on virtual reality, 
multimedia and GIS services. 

The Passerelle ECO project (France) tackles environmental issues from a different perspective 
by promoting eco-villages and distributing information 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  promoting  local  cultural  and  natural  heritage,  as 
demonstrated by the “Les Plus Beaux Villages de Wallonie” project (Belgium). It has grouped 
23  villages  and  gathered  their  efforts  in  promoting  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  that  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 could be given with the project developed in the 
Czech Republic to create a system for managing emergency vehicles in Vysočina, a typical 

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25 

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rural  region  in  the  country.  This  project  has  not  only  has  improved  the  management  of  the 
emergency cars, but has also increased their efficiency, especially in winter. 

7. 

CONCLUSIONS 

Developing and improving existing broadband infrastructure has been 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.  Various  processes  such  as  depopulation  and  out-migration, 
declining  economic  activities,  low  commercial  attractiveness,  market  pressure  leading  to 
closure  of  businesses  and  withdrawal  of  public  services  (financial,  administrative,  social, 
etc.),  inadequate  communication  systems  and  infrastructure,  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  business  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-urban digital divide as long as objectives are 
achieved and the environment is protected. 

The  EU  should  take  full  advantage  of  existing  technologies,  products  and  processes  and 
successfully  match  them  with  existing  funding  (Community,  national  and  private),  thereby 
creating  favourable  conditions  for  development  and  growth  of  rural  areas.  All  this  should 
contribute to the Lisbon objectives and lead to strong territorial  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  economy  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 population 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 activities applying a strategic approach for rural 
areas' development.  

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26 

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8. 

REFERENCES 

COM(2005) 229,  2005,  “i2010  —  A  European  Information  Society  for  growth  and 
employment”  

COM(2005) 330, 2005, “Common Actions for Growth and Employment: The Community 
Lisbon Programme” 

COM(2006) 857, 2006, “Employment in rural 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 renewed Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs: 
launching the new cycle (2008–2010) — Keeping 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 declaring certain categories of 
aid  compatible  with  the  common  market  in  application  of  Articles  87  and  88  of  the  Treaty 
(General block exemption Regulation). 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 development statistical report 2008, Brussels 

Study  on  “Availability  of  access  to  computer  networks  in  rural  areas”  (SAACNRA) 
http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/analysis/external/index_en.htm  

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 

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 

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9. 

TABLES AND FIGURES 

Table 1.  DSL coverage in the EU27 as of December 2007 and 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 
Bulgaria 
Czech Republic 
Denmark 
Germany 
Estonia 
Ireland 
Greece 
Spain 
France 
Italy 
Cyprus 
Latvia 
Lithuania 
Luxembourg 
Hungary 
Malta 
Netherlands 
Austria 
Poland** 
Portugal 
Romania 
Slovenia 
Slovakia 
Finland 
Sweden 
United Kingdom 

EU27 
EU15 
EU12 

100.0 
n.a. 
75.0 
100.0 
87.5 
73.0 
73.3 
50.0 
88.0 
96.7 
81.7 
0.0 
65.0 
67.5 
100.0 
80.0 

99.0 
80.6 
42.5 
86.0 
n.a. 
85.5 
38.5 
91.0 
90.0 
96.1 

n.a. 
n.a. 
n.a. 

100.0 
n.a. 
85.0 
100.0 
94.6 
0.0 
99.3 
85.0 
90.0 
98.7 
90.8 
40.0 
80.0 
96.5 
100.0 
94.0 

99.0 
99.0 
45.0 
96.0 
n.a. 
95.3 
83.6 
98.0 
99.0 
100.0 

n.a. 
n.a. 
n.a. 

100.0 
n.a. 
98.0 
100.0 
99.2 
90.0 
99.8 
100.0 
93.0 
99.2 
99.8 
100.0 
98.0 
99.0 
100.0 
98.0 
99.0 
99.0 
100.0 
85.5 
99.0 
n.a. 
98.5 
94.3 
99.0 
99.0 
100.0 

n.a. 
n.a. 
n.a. 

100.0 
n.a. 
85.0 
100.0 
95.7 
85.0 
89.2 
86.3 
91.0 
98.5 
94.0 
79.6 
87.0 
87.9 
100.0 
91.0 
99.0 
99.0 
92.0 
64.0 
95.0 
n.a. 
92.2 
73.9 
96.0 
97.8 
99.6 

n.a. 
n.a. 
n.a. 

0.0 
n.a. 
n.a. 
0.0 
32.5 
n.a. 
16.8 
50.0 
6.0 
8.8 
37.1 
0.0 
n.a. 
12.9 
0.0 
4.0 

0.0 
13.6 
u 
7.0 
n.a. 
58.5 
13.5 
13.0 
24.0 
1.3 

n.a 
n.a 
n.a 

0.0 
n.a. 
n.a. 
0.0 
–3.4 
n.a. 
0.8 
85.0 
0.0 
0.7 
3.7 
40.0 
n.a. 
2.4 
0.0 
7.0 

0.0 
1.0 
u 
0.0 
n.a. 
51.3 
17.0 
2.0 
3.0 
0.0 

n.a. 
n.a. 
n.a. 

0.0 
n.a. 
n.a. 
0.0 
0.2 
n.a. 
0.3 
83.0 
2.0 
–0.1 
1.0 
0.0 
n.a. 
0.0 
0.0 
6.0 
0.0 
0.0 
2.0 
u 
0.0 
n.a. 
4.5 
9.0 
1.0 
0.0 
0.0 

n.a. 
n.a. 
n.a. 

Source:  DG AGRI Rural development statistical report 2008, European Commission 

0.0 
n.a. 
10.0 
0.0 
3.7 
n.a. 
6.9 
74.3 
2.0 
2.1 
7.0 
9.9 
n.a. 
5.7 
0.0 
6.0 
0.0 
0.0 
6.0 
1.7 
2.4 
n.a. 
37.2 
13.1 
5.6 
4.3 
0.1 

n.a. 
n.a. 
n.a. 

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. 

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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  subscriptions  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 
Bulgaria 
Czech Republic 
Denmark 
Germany 
Estonia 
Ireland 
Greece 
Spain 
France 
Italy 
Cyprus 
Latvia 
Lithuania 
Luxembourg 
Hungary 
Malta 
Netherlands 
Austria 
Poland 
Portugal 
Romania 
Slovenia 
Slovakia 
Finland 
Sweden 
United Kingdom 

EU27 
EU15 
EU12 

16.7 
n.a. 
4.8 
10.9 
9.2 
n.a. 
6.4 
n.a. 
8.5 
21.1 
10.3 
0.0 
3.0 
3.0 
20.0 
2.8 
n.a. 
20.9 
7.2 
1.9 
6.2 
n.a. 
9.0 
2.3 
18.9 
15.3 
19.8 

10.1 
12.8 
2.7 

15.6 
n.a. 
4.6 
25.7 
22.6 
n.a. 
15.4 
n.a. 
12.8 
22.3 
14.5 
2.6 
7.3 
7.7 
22.7 
7.3 
n.a.  
20.9 
15.8 
10.0 
8.4 
n.a. 
9.2 
5.5 
26.7 
20.2 
20.9 

17.2 
18.8 
7.4 

15.0 
n.a. 
10.5 
28.4 
26.5 
n.a. 
19.0 
n.a. 
16.7 
25.0 
19.2 
16.8 
9.0 
9.1 
23.6 
11.7 
9.4 
20.9 
17.5 
7.6 
13.5 
n.a. 
23.1 
7.2 
30.6 
19.4 
19.9 

19.1 
20.7 
8.6 

15.3 
n.a. 
5.9 
22.0 
22.5 
10.1 
13.4 
n.a. 
14.1 
23.5 
16.3 
12.3 
7.0 
6.9 
22.6 
7.3 
9.4 
20.9 
12.9 
6.2 
10.2 
n.a. 
12.2 
5.1 
25.4 
19.2 
20.1 

17.0 
18.8 
6.6 

1.4 
n.a 
2.6 
3.2 
4.9 
n.a. 
4.3 
n.a. 
3.1 
9.3 
5.5 
0.0 
n.a. 
1.7 
7.7 
1.7 
n.a.  
5.3 
2.7 
0.8 
3.0 
n.a. 
4.5 
1.5 
5.0 
7.2 
9.3 

4.7 
5.9 
1.4 

2.2 
n.a. 
2.6 
7.6 
9.9 
n.a. 
8.4 
n.a. 
2.8 
8.4 
4.3 
2.6 
n.a. 
4.3 
8.6 
4.1 
n.a.  
5.3 
5.7 
4.3 
4.2 
n.a. 
4.7 
3.4 
5.3 
6.1 
11.3 

6.7 
7.2 
3.7 

3.4 
n.a. 
5.6 
8.4 
11.4 
n.a. 
12.3 
n.a. 
5.9 
8.9 
4.2 
8.7 
n.a. 
4.9 
8.5 
5.0 
1.9 
5.3 
5.5 
3.8 
–0.2 
n.a. 
9.9 
4.4 
7.3 
4.1 
6.2 

6.5 
6.7 
4.5 

2.8 
n.a. 
3.2 
6.5 
9.9 
1.9 
8.4 
n.a. 
4.7 
8.9 
4.5 
6.6 
4.0 
3.8 
8.4 
3.6 
1.9 
5.3 
4.4 
2.9 
3.4 
n.a. 
5.7 
3.2 
6.0 
5.6 
8.0 

6.4 
6.8 
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. the difference between the % DSL take-up in 2006 and the 
% DSL take-up in 2005. 

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29 

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Table 3.  Appearance  of  specific  commitments  to  make  investments  in  ICT  with  a  direct  impact  on 

businesses and population in rural development programmes 2007–2013, selected measures 

Member States 
Austria 

Belgium 

Bulgaria 
Cyprus 
Czech Republic 
Denmark 
Estonia 

Finland 

France 

Germany 

Greece 
Hungary 
Italy 

Programme(s) 
National 
Vlaanderen 
Wallonie 
National 
National 
National 
National 
National 
Continental 
Åland Islands 
Hexagone 
Île de la Réunion 
Martinique 
Guadeloupe 
Guyane 
Corse 
Bayern 
Rheinland-Pfalz 
Baden-Württemberg 
Hessen 
Nordrhein-Westfalen 
Niedersachsen + Bremen 
Saarland 
Hamburg 
Schleswig-Holstein 
Sachsen-Anhalt 
Sachsen 
Thüringen 
Mecklenburg-Vorp. 
Brandenburg + Berlin 
National framework 
Network 
National 
National 
Piemonte 
Abruzzo 
Umbria 
Marche 
Emilia-Romagna 
Toscana 
Friuli-Venezia Giulia 
Veneto 
Trento 
Liguria 
Lombardia 
Valle d’Aosta 
Bolzano 
Campania 
Puglia 
Basilicata 

m 321  m 111  m 311  m 312  m 313 

X 
X 
X 
X 
X 

X 

X 
X 
X 

X 

X 

X 
X 
X 

X 
X 
X 

X 

X 
X 
X 
X 
X 

X 

X 
X 
X 
X 
X 

X 

X 

X 
X 

X 

X 
X 
X 

X 
X 

X 

X 

X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 

X 
X 

X 
X 
X 

X 

X 
X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 
X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 
X 

X 
X 

X 
X 

X 
X 
X 
X 

X 

X 

X 
X 
X 

X 
X 
X 

EN 

30 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Calabria 
Sicilia 
Sardegna 
Molise 
Lazio 
Network  
National 
National 
National 
National 
National 
National 
National 
Continental 
Madeira 
Açores 
Network  
National 
National 
National 
Aragón 
Baleares 
Cataluña 
La Rioja 
Madrid 
Navarra 
Pais Vasco 
Cantabria 
Andalucia 
Asturias 
Canarias 
Castilla-La Mancha 
Castilla y León 
Valencia 
Extremadura 
Galicia 
Murcia 
National framework  
Network  
National 
England 
Northern Ireland 
Scotland 
Wales 

X 
X 
X 
X 
X 

X 

X 

X 

X 
X 

X 
X 
X 
X 

X 

X 

X 

X 
47 
16 

X 
X 
X 
X 
X 

X 

X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
X 

X 
X 

X 
X 
X 
X 
X 

X 
X 
X 

X 
X 

X 
X 
X 

X 
X 
X 
X 
X 
56 
20 

X 
X 

X 
X 

X 
X 

X 

X 

X 

X 
X 

X 

X 

X 
28 
17 

X 
X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 
X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 
X 

X 
X 

34 
13 

X 

X 
X 

X 

X 
X 

X 

X 

X 
X 

X 

X 

21 
15 

Ireland 
Latvia 
Lithuania 
Luxembourg 
Malta 
Netherlands 
Poland 

Portugal 

Romania 
Slovakia 
Slovenia 

Spain 

Sweden 

United Kingdom 

# of RDPs 
# of MSs 

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 

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Table 4.  Specific  commitments  to  make  ICT  investments  under  measure  321  “Basic  services  for  the 

economy and rural population” in Rural 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 
DE Rheinland 
-Pfalz 
DE Sachsen 
IT Toscana 
IT Sicilia 
IT Umbria 
ES Asturias 
ES Murcia 
ES Cataluña 
UK Wales 

Sweden 
BE Vlaanderen 
DE Niedersachsen  DE Nordrhein 
-Westfalen 

& Bremen 

Denmark 
IT Trento 
IT Piemonte 
IT Veneto 
ES Canarias 
ES Baleares 
ES Andalucia 
FI Continental 

IT Basilicata 
IT Valle d’Aosta 
IT Abruzzo 
ES Extremadura 
ES Castilla 
-La Mancha 
PT Açores 
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 
FR Corse 
IT Piemonte 
IT Lombardia 
DE Rheinland 
-Pfalz 

BE Wallonie 
IT Calabria 
IT Abruzzo 
Latvia 
DE Niedersachsen 
& Bremen  

FR Hexagone 
IT Sardegna 
IT Umbria 
Hungary 

Mobile ICT centres 

Youth centres (incl. for free access to internet and 
free IT lessons) 

Bulgaria 

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 Toscana 
IT Sardegna 
FI Continental 

IT Umbria 
IT Veneto 
BE Wallonie 
ES Andalucia 

IT Marche 
IT Liguria 
FR Hexagone 

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 

Internet portals 

FR Hexagone 
ES Canarias 

FR Corse 

IT Molise 

DE Hessen 

FR Hexagone 

IT equipment in small schools 

DE Sachsen-Anhalt 

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32 

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Table 4. (continued) 

Information and multimedia laboratories/centres 

IT Piemonte 
IT Abruzzo 
IT Sardegna 
BE Wallonie 

IT Veneto 
IT Sicilia 
IT Lazio 

IT Umbria 
IT Calabria 
PT Açores 

Transport service by telephone calls 

IT Piemonte 

Security of people (reservations, tele-assistance) 

IT Piemonte 

Teleworking 

Setting up of tele-services and electronic 
consultation systems 

On-line training and e-skills 

Village ICT initiatives (i.e. provision of word 
processing facilities, publishing software, etc.) 

ES Baleares 
FI Continental 

ES Canarias 

ES Castilla- 
La Mancha 

UK Wales 

ES CLM 

UK Wales 

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 have specified ICT-related actions are listed. 

* 

The RDP for Slovakia does not mention explicitly broadband investments. 

Source:  DG Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission 

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33 

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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 technologies for bringing 
the producer and consumer closer, web-sites, 
e-booking, etc. 

Estonia 
Netherlands 
FR Hexagone 

IT Marche 
ES Canarias 

IT Trento 
ES Murcia 

Assistance in ICT initiatives 

DE Brandenburg & Berlin 

Access and increased use of ICT 

DE Saarland 
UK Scotland 

Slovakia 
IT Piemonte 

ES Pais Vasco 
Slovenia 

Dissemination and communication tools 

PT Açores 

Computer and related activities  
(except databases) 

Network 

Note: 

Latvia 

Sweden 

Some  of  the  actions or  the measure  itself will  be  implemented  through  Leader. Integrated  measures 
are taken into account. Only RDPs that have specified ICT-related actions are listed. 

Source:  DG Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission 

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34 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 6.  Specific  commitments  for  ICT  investments  under  measure  111  “Vocational  training  and 
in  Rural  Development 

industry  and  forestry” 

information  actions  for  farmers,  food 
Programmes 2007–2013 

Type of action 

Rural Development Programme 

Professional training in ICT and 
computer skills 

BE Wallonie 
FI Continental 
IT Marche 
IT Lombardia 
IT Puglia 
IT Molise 
Malta 
PT Madeira 
Slovakia 
ES La Rioja 
ES Canarias 

Austria 
Bulgaria 
IT Piemonte 
IT Toscana 
IT Campania 
IT Sicilia 
Latvia 
PT Continental 
Romania 
ES Baleares 
ES Cantabria 
ES Extremadura  ES Galicia 
Hungary 
UK Wales 

UK England 

Czech Republic 
FI Åland islands 
DE Schleswig-Holstein 
DE Brandenburg & Berlin 
IT Basilicata 
IT Lazio 
Poland 
PT Açores 
ES Aregón 
ES Pais Vasco 
ES Castilla-La Mancha 
ES Cataluña 
UK Scotland 

E-learning 

Web portals and web tools 

Information activities using ICT 

Specific actions 

Austria 
ES Cataluña 
IT Lombardia 
IT Sicilia 
UK Northern  
Ireland 

Austria 
IT Toscana 
Slovakia 

FI Continental 
Greece 
IT Puglia 
IT Sardegna 

DE Brandenburg & Berlin 
IT Liguria 
IT Calabria 
Malta 

IT Abruzzo 
IT Puglia 

IT Umbria 
Malta 

BE Wallonie 
IT Marche 
IT Sardegna 
ES Andalucia 

IT Abruzzo 
IT Toscana 
Malta 
ES Cataluña 

IT Umbria 
IT Puglia 
ES Madrid 

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 
Ireland 

IT Emilia-Romagna 

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 

Demonstration projects on the 
improvement of logistic systems and 
information technology 

IT Calabria 

Netherlands 

EN 

35 

   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 have specified ICT-related actions are listed. 

Source:  DG Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission 

EN 

36 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 7.  Specific  commitments  for ICT  investments  under  measure  312  “Creation  of  micro-enterprises 

and business development” in Rural Development Programmes 2007–2013 

Type of action 

Rural Development Programme 

ICT based services 

Bulgaria 
Poland 

IT Sardegna 
FI Continental 

IT Puglia 

implementation  of  new 
Web  portals  or 
technologies  for  bringing  the  producer  and  the 
consumer closer (e.g. e-commerce, e-marketing) 

Austria 
IT Liguria 
IT Puglia 
UK Wales 

Estonia 
IT Lombardia 
PT Açores 

IT Piemonte 
IT Campania 
ES Valencia 

Development of mobile solutions 

Estonia 

Investments in structural improvements, incl. 
communication points 

FR Martinique 
DE Brandenburg  
& Berlin 

IT Liguria 

IT Lombardia 

Services for connecting and providing internet 

Romania 

Cooperation networking 

DE Hamburg 

DE Sachsen 
-Anhalt 

Sweden 

Computer and related activities (except database)  Latvia 

Application of new IT 

IT Piemonte 
ES Canarias 
ES Castilla 

-La Mancha 

Hungary 
Estonia 

Ireland 
Sweden 

Utilisation of local ICT capacity (e.g. online 
processing of micro-enterprise administrative 
activities) 

Ireland 

New (or improved) access 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 have specified ICT-related actions are listed. 

Source:  DG Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission 

EN 

37 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 8.  Specific  commitments  for  ICT  investments  under  measure  313  “Rural  tourism”  in  Rural 

Development Programmes 2007–2013* 

Type of action 

Web portals, electronic booking systems, 
marketing, tourism services, etc. 

Rural Development Programme 
Austria 
IT Abruzzo 
IT Toscana 
IT Lombardia 
IT Sicilia 
Malta 
ES Pais Vasco 

Bulgaria 
IT Umbria 
IT Veneto 
IT Campania 
IT Sardegna 
Romania 
ES Castilla 

IT Piemonte 
IT Marche 
IT Liguria 
IT Puglia 
Ireland 
ES La Rioja 
ES Valencia 

ES Galicia 
Sweden 
FR Hexagone 

-La Mancha 

ES Murcia 
UK England 

ES Andalucia 
Slovakia 

Development of ICT services for tourism 

IT Marche 
IT Liguria 
IT Lazio 

IT Piemonte 
IT Lombardia 
Ireland 

IT Basilicata 
IT Toscana 

Networking of tourism actors via ICT 

FR Hexagone 

DE Sachsen 
-Anhalt 

IT Sardegna 

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 have specified ICT-related actions are listed. 

Source:  DG Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission 

EN 

38 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 9.  Specific  commitments  for  ICT  investments  under  measure  331  “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 
FR Guadeloupe 
Ireland 
ES Castilla 

-La Mancha 

FI Continental 
FR Corse 
Luxembourg 
ES Canarias 

FR Hexagone 
IT Piemonte 
Slovakia 

On-line training and e-learning 

FI Continental 
ES CLM 
Ireland 

IT Marche 
IT Liguria 

IT Veneto 
IT Campania 

Dissemination  of  information  by  using  in 
particular ICT 

FI Continental 

FR Corse 

Luxembourg 

Distance learning 

Ireland 

ES Castilla-La Mancha 

Mobile training solutions 

Ireland 

* 

Note: 

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. 
Some  of  the  actions or  the measure  itself will  be  implemented  through  Leader. Integrated  measures 
are taken into account. Only RDPs that have specified ICT-related actions are listed. 

Source:  DG Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission 

EN 

39 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 1.  DSL  coverage  in  rural  areas  and  share  of  population  having  a  DSL  internet  subscription  in 

rural areas, as of December 2007, % 

)

%

(
7
0
0
2
n

i

p
u
-
e
k
a

t

L
S
D

l

a
r
u
R

25,0

20,0

15,0

10,0

5,0

0,0

FI

FR

UK

NL

LU

BE

SE

DK

IT

SI

AT

DE

ES

PT

IE

CZ

SK

PL

LV

LT

HU

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 (%)

Note: Complete data for Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Malta and Romania is not available. 
Source: Rural development statistical report 2008, European Commission 

EN 

40 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 2.  DSL coverage in different areas in the EU27, Dec 2007, % of total territory with DSL coverage 

100,0

90,0

80,0

70,0

60,0

50,0

40,0

30,0

20,0

10,0

0,0

CY MT SK PL EL LV LT EE IE CZ HU AT 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 

41 

   EN 

 
 
Figure 3.  Change  in  the  DSL  coverage  in  the  various  areas  in  selected  MS,  2007  to  2005,  difference 

between both years, % 

90,0

80,0

70,0

60,0

50,0

40,0

30,0

20,0

10,0

0,0

DE

IE

EL

ES

FR

IT

CY

LT

HU

AT

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

Rural

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 

42 

   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, % 

14,0

12,0

10,0

8,0

6,0

4,0

2,0

0,0

BE CZ DK DE IE ES FR IT

CY LT LU HU MT NL AT PL PT SI

SK FI

SE UK

EU27

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 

43 

   EN 

 
 
Figure 5.  Households in EU25 using broadband by population density, %, 2004–2007 

75

60

45

30

15

0

18

6

2004

48

42

35

38

31

22

27

23

15

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 

44 

   EN 

 
Figure 6.  Relative broadband gap in 2007, thinly populated areas as % of urban areas 

120

110

97 96

100

94 93

86 86 84

79 76 76

80

60

40

20

0

69

68 68

60

56 54 54 53 53 51 50

69 72

44

34

30

27

9

U
L

T
M

L
N

R
F

K
U

K
D

E
S

I

E F
B

E
D

T
A

I

K S
S

E
E

Z
C

L
P

V
L

S
E

T
P

U
H

L
E

T

I

T
L

E
Y I
C

G
B

O
R

7
2
U
E

5
2
U
E

Source: 2007 Eurostat ICT household survey (extraction on 20 October 2008), Eurostat, European Commission 

EN 

45 

   EN