Diversity of Temporal and Territorial Social Penetration Rates of Information Technology in Europe

This paper presents the diversity of social penetration rates of information and communication technologies (ICT) among selected European countries according to European statistics on diverse ICT indicators. The data considered cover the 2006-2010 time range and was obtained from the Eurostat portal. The scope of the study selected EU countries - Belgium, Germany, France, Finland, Sweden, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, Spain. The following ICT indicators were analyzed: percentage of households or corporations with broadband access to the Internet (HHBAI), percentage of individuals who are regularly using the Internet (IRUI), percentage of individuals who ordered goods or services over the Internet (IOGSI). These indicators of ICT penetration rate in the countries examined were analyzed in terms of the following aspects: forecasting (estimates until the year 2035), maximum speed of change of these indicators (the pace of social penetration of information technology), delays or advances (in years) as compared to the averages in EU. The results are presented in tables and graphs. General conclusions and directions of future research are indicated at the end of the paper.