On the 28th May, the Commission published the 11th edition of the eGovernment Benchmark. In 2013 the Commission proposed concrete measures to create a Single Telecoms Market, in order to address many of the problems confirmed in today's data.The 2014 Digital Agenda Scoreboard assesses progress at EU and national level in achieving this goal, as measured against the 13 key performance indicators. The report is based on 2013 data.

 

The Commission has so far completed 72 of 101 actions under the Digital Agenda for Europe. 23 further actions are scheduled for completion by their deadline. 6 have been delayed or are at risk of being delayed.This is what the Digital Scoreboard had to say about Malta

Broadband markets: At the end of 2013, fixed broadband covered 100% of homes in Malta (97% in the EU). In rural areas, fixed broadband covered 100% of homes. At the same time, Next Generation Access capable of providing at least 30 Mbps download was available to 100% of homes (62% in the EU).79% of the households had a broadband subscription at the end of 2013, higher than the EU average (76%) and 2 percentage points higher than at the end of 2012.

The share of high speed connections (providing at least 30 Mbps) was lower than the EU average (14% compared to 21% in the EU). Ultra-fast connections (providing at least 100 Mbps) accounted for 1% of all subscriptions (5% in the EU).On the mobile side, 4th generation (LTE) was not available. The take-up rate (subscription per 100 people) of mobile broadband was 58%, below the EU average of 62%.

Internet usage:In 2013, 66% of the Maltese population reported using the internet at least weekly (regular users), below the EU average of 72%. Malta exhibited somewhat lower rates of daily use of the internet (frequent users), with 59% of the population reporting going online every day, compared to an EU average of 62%. In 2013, 28% of the population had still never used the internet; lower than in 2012 and higher than the EU average of 20%.

Digital skills:Results obtained from a newly developed Digital Skills Indicator show that, in 2012, 48% of the Maltese population had low or no digital skills, compared to 47% for the EU average. Disadvantaged people (i.e. individuals who are aged 55-74, low educated and/or unemployed, retired or inactive) in Malta are more highly digitally skilled than is average in the EU. Within the workforce, skills are higher; 34% of the workforce has low or no digital skills. On average in the EU, the figure is 39%. At 54% in 2013, figures for households without internet access reporting lack of skills as a reason for no access are higher than the EU average of 37%. According to a broad definition, the share of ICT specialists in total employment in Malta was 3.1% in 2012; about the same as the EU average of 2.8%.

eCommerce: In 2013, 46% of Maltese people had purchased goods or services online within the previous 12 months, which means that take-up of e-Commerce was below the EU average of 47%. Malta exhibited much better rates of cross-border e-Commerce, with 39% of the population having bought online from other EU countries in the previous 12 months, compared to an EU average of 12%. In 2013, 19% of large enterprises were selling on-line, significantly fewer than in 2012 and significantly fewer than the EU average of 35%. SMEs were less active with 10% of SMEs selling online, fewer than the EU average of 14%.

eGovernment:In 2013, 32% of Maltese people made use of the internet for eGovernment services, a decrease from 41% in 2012 and below the EU average of 41%. 13% of citizens sent filled-in forms, down from 17% in 2012, and below the EU average. On the supply-side, the newly introduced User-centric eGovernment Indicator was at 94 in 2012-2013, much above the EU average of 70, and the TransparenteGovernment Indicator was at 96, much above the EU average of 49.

eHealth: In 2013, 0% of Maltese hospitals had a broadband connection >50Mbps, well below the EU average of 36%. 100% of hospitals exchange clinical information with external healthcare providers or professionals, which is well above the EU average of 55%. For General Practitioners, the rate is 18%, lower than the EU average of 28%. 100% of hospitals provide patients access to the totality or part of their medical records, which is much higher than the EU average (9%).

Research and Development (R&D) in ICT:In 2010, Business Expenditure in R&D (BERD) by the ICT sector in Malta amounts to €9mn, about the same as the year before. BERD by the ICT sector represents 35% of total BERD, above the EU average of 17%. Total BERD is 0.4% of GDP, below the EU average of 1.2%. In 2012, Public funding in R&D (GBAORD) in the ICT sector amounts to €0mn representing 0.4% to total GBAORD, below the EU average of 6.6%. 

Participation to the EU-funded Seventh Framework Programme for Research (FP7) in ICT:Over the period 2007-2013 the EU co-funded projects in Malta in the ICT domain (FP7 Cooperation ICT Theme and e-infrastructures within Capacities) for a cumulated total of €3 million. Overall 12 Maltese organisations participated in 22 projects (so represented in 1% of all projects) and coordinated 1 project.

In 2013 participation from higher education/research organizations was at 77% of funding, above the EU average (66%). Industrial participation was at 23% of funding, below the EU average (29%), all going to large enterprises.Participation (in terms of share of total funding) is higher in the following Strategic Objectives:  ICT for Learning, Cognitive Systems and Robotics and ICT for Health.

For more information the report is available online at: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/progress-country