It’s all about the numbers

Internet availability in Belarus is much higher than in Europe

The digital transformation of the European Union is an ambitious undertaking in every sense. According to its authors, European companies should massively master cloud technologies and make friends with artificial intelligence by 2030. And the population, in turn, is planned to be provided with 100 percent access to the Internet with gigabit bandwidth. At the very beginning of the ‘digital’ decade, it was assumed that in addition to the budget allocated for these purposes by the EU, private capital would also be involved in financing the idea of universal digitalisation. However, after a short time, the Union’s billions of euros have disappeared somewhere, and there is no particular enthusiasm on the part of potential investors. It is difficult to say how much 5G networks will cover the whole of Europe by the end of the decade, but so far access to the network, at least at more modest speeds, is not available to everyone in the EU. For some, it is purely physical: there is neither optical fiber nor stable coverage with cell stations. Or for financial reasons: you can be friends with the network through space communications from anywhere on the planet, but this pleasure is too expensive. In this sense, Belarus, where the issue was taken under state control, clearly gives the European Union a head start in the digitalisation of households.

The digital ‘compass’ of the current decade aims the European community to create a capacious ecosystem where, as a result, everyone should be happy. Digitised business will begin to flourish, and residents of EU countries will gain greater opportunities. Thanks to the dissemination of the figure, it is expected to attract investment into the economy, increase its efficiency and expand citizens’ access to innovative services, including the public sector. However, there are doubts that these rosy plans are destined to come true.
The European Commission was clearly not pleased with the interim results of the technological transformation programme. Its recent report provides data that is far from planned. In particular, only 56 percent of households are connected to fiber optic lines. The commissioning of standalone 5G networks is behind schedule. And in general, modern means of communication are just a dream for many Europeans. This is evidenced by the fact that more than half of rural households are deprived of access to stable Internet communications, and 9 percent are completely cut off from the fixed communication network. However, 42 percent of Europeans lack basic digital skills. Apparently, with such obvious infrastructure gaps, they simply do not see the point in increasing technical literacy. So is it time to aim for 5G scaling?
If things continue to move so slowly, European Commissioners note, Europe will not advance much in the area of digitalisation. Without additional investment and incentives, less than 60 percent of Europeans will be able to use the Internet and email in 2030. Unfortunately, opinion polls show that European companies are not particularly eager to invest in digital projects, which, among other things, require significant energy costs. As you know, energy resources are a sensitive topic for Europeans. The bet on renewable energy sources (RES) in the current geo-economic conditions is clearly losing. And not all participants in the European alliance have sufficient quantities of traditional energy sources. Price turbulence in the energy market is unlikely to contribute to their reduction in prices in the near future. In such a situation, progress literally becomes golden. And business, as you know, knows how to count money.
Skepticism towards high-tech innovations is observed even in countries with strong economies. Thus, the Industrie 4.0 platform , assessing the state of German digital technologies, notes a very low level of knowledge of citizens in this area. And where, in fact, does the desire to get them come from, if, for example, you choose an Internet provider and a more or less tolerable tariff in Germany — a real quest. The main problem is expensive and slow. Only 1.6 percent of households are connected to modern communications via fiber optics. Copper cable is still the basic material for data transmission. The leader of the German telecommunications market, Telekom, did not spend money on updating its outdated infrastructure for a long time, finding it unprofitable. Given the generally low quality of services, German prices per gigabyte are among the most hefty in the world. Under such conditions, you will inevitably give up the benefits of the new technological order.

For comparison: In our country, broadband Internet is not a luxury item and is available to everyone. This is clearly evidenced by the rating of the authoritative website Cable.co.uk. Its experts analysed data on the cost of 3,356 access packages to the global network in 219 countries. Belarus is in fourth place among the countries with the cheapest fixed-line Internet. But the countries of Western Europe did not even make it into the top 50. The closest neighbors — Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia — occupy 24th, 38th and 84th positions, respectively. 

Unlike European citizens, Belarusians also have no problems with mobile communications. Population coverage with cellular mobile telecommunications services using LTE (4G) technology, according to Belstat, is 98 percent. As a result of practical, and not declared digitalisation, 89.5 Belarusians (aged 6 to 72 years) are Internet users. Moreover, 77.4 percent use the network daily. Of course, some people ignore digital technologies. But this is his right to choose, and not restrictions from the communication network.


Frankly speaking, the dreams of Western politicians about the widespread introduction of ultra-modern digital formats amid the absence in some places of elementary infrastructure for at least any decent communication are surprising. Isn’t it time to come down to earth? Take a look into an ordinary European house. Look at the state of communications and the amount of family bills for services. And, finally, compare the urgent needs of people with the capabilities of the European Union treasury, which has so many items of expenditure that are far from the needs of ordinary Europeans. And now Brussels administrative structures are looking for another €200 billion to provide everyone and everything with gigabit Internet. But such speeds at the everyday level are completely unnecessary. For unmanned vehicles and industrial digital platforms, yes, stable high throughput is needed. But for the digitalisation of households, more modest characteristics are quite enough. Or is another grandiose digital push for comprehensive 5G coverage nothing more than the appropriation of money from the European treasury by contractors?! Budget funds ran out and the project failed. In Slavic vocabulary this is called the capacious word ‘cut’. The value of technological innovation is not in its complexity or capabilities, but in its ability to improve the standard of living and comfort of citizens. In Belarus, we proceed from this parameter. That’s why our citizens are digitalised. The EU apparently has other priorities. There are expensive, grandiose projects, but not everyone has the Internet.

By Tatiana Shchedrenok