According to statistics, in Romania 9 per cent of SMEs do not have access to the Internet, compared with the EU 15 average of 2 percent, which represents a weak spot in digital ecosystem.
Also, 29 percent of total SMEs use high-speed Internet, above the NMS13 level, which stands at 23 percent. At the same time, 28 percent of SMEs use Internet at speeds lower than 10 Mbps, compared with the average of 40 percent reported among the 13 new EU countries.
On the other hand, the DELab report shows that Romania is the state where the monthly average price of an Internet subscription is below 19 euros, the lowest compared to the EU15 average of 37 euros.
The same research reveals that 43 percent of Romanians have no digital competence, well above the 25 percent average in NMS13 countries and 14 percent in the EU15, while 8 per cent of the population believe they have digital knowledge solid enough to cope in a competitive work environment.
In terms of digital competence, Romania ranks last in the European Union, and only 16 percent of Romanians have basic digital knowledge, compared to the EU15 average of 30 per cent and 26 percent in NMS13 countries.
The statistics also shows that, among the 28 EU member states, Romania ranks 2nd in terms of Internet speed and 3rd in terms of use of social networks.
Additionally, Romania holds the 23rd position as far as connectivity goes, on the 27th place in human capital, use of the Internet and digital public services respectively.
According to the cited data the NMS13 category includes: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
The countries included in the EU15 category are: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK. (source: nineoclock.ro)
