The European Commission's Directorate General for the Information Society and Media carried out an E-Communications Household Survey in order to keep abreast of trends in electronic communications markets and to assess how EU households and citizens derive benefits from the increasingly competitive and innovative digital environment.

The fieldwork for this survey was carried out between 9 February and 8 March 2011. The interviews were conducted among 26 836 EU citizens in the 27 Member States of the European Union.

The main themes addressed in this report and respective findings are:

• The different types of telephone access available with the home: Most EU households have access to a telephone (98%); more have access to a mobile phone (89%) than a fixed telephone (71%).
• The availability of computers within the home: Household access to a computer has continued to increase (+4) and almost seven out of ten households now have access (68%).
• Internet access and the quality of that Internet connection: Household Internet access has increased (+5) and 62% of households now have access at home. Most people are connecting using an ADSL, XDSL connection (62%). 25% of EU households consider that the download/upload speed and capacity of its Internet connection do not match the contract conditions, while more than one third of EU households report Internet connection break downs.
• Television availability and the way in which the transmission is received: Household access to television is almost universal, with almost every household having access to one (98%).
• Uptake of communications packages: The use of service packages continues to grow across the EU, with 42% of households now obtaining their communication services through a package. Most packages include Internet access (90%) and a fixed telephone (82%). The inclusion of television channels is less popular (48%) and a mobile telephone in the package is the least common item (19%).
• The ease of switching Internet service providers and/or package providers: A majority of EU households said that they never considered changing their Internet service provider (58%) or their service package provider (60%). Only 12% of households are active switchers, around 15% of households would like to switch but are hindered for a number of reasons and eventually three quarters of households can be considered as inertial consumers.
• Affordability of mobile services: Concern about the cost of mobile calls has increased (+4) and 65% are now limiting calls with their mobile because of concerns about charges.
• Data privacy: EU citizens are increasingly concerned about data privacy, with 88% (+4) wanting to know if their data was lost, stolen or altered in any way.

The full report can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/eb_special_379_360_en.htm#362