Spain Has Much Room for Connectivity Improvement

Spain’s weak performance on the 2009 Connectivity Scorecard extends to all aspects of the country’s connectivity.  While broadband penetration is just above average, every other consumer usage and infrastructure metric finds Spain lagging behind the sample leaders.  Business infrastructure shows good distribution of business telephony lines, but the proportion of jobs in the country requiring ICT skills falls below the median.  Spain’s E-Government ranking is good, thanks in part to good broadband access for schools, but this metric is not weighted highly on the Scorecard.

Spain’s poor connectivity scores may be related in part to an aging population that lacks the education and IT skills to compete with other nations.  The country’s regulatory situation does not suggest any particular issues, indicating that improvements will have to begin at a more basic level.  This could include greater investment in the ICT sector and a focus on investment in knowledge and R&D.

Spain Connectivity Performance by Scorecard Component