Information Society indicators in the Member States of the EU
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3. Telecommunication equipment

Note : the source for data regarding European Union equipment in telephone sets and public pay phones is OMSYC. The source for data regarding Mediterranean and Central and Eastern European countries is ESIS II.

3.1 Telephone sets

The number of telephone sets in the European Union increased by 3.5% between 1997 and 1998 and 2.7% between 1998 and 1999. That represents an average growth rate per year of 3%.

Graph 20: Number of telephone sets in the European Union – Evolution 1997-1999

Between 1997 and 1999, the penetration rate increased from 73 to 77 telephone sets per 100 inhabitants.

3.2 Public pay phones

The number of public pay phones in the European Union grew at an average annual rate of 2 % between 1997 and 1999.

Graph 21: Number of public pay phones in the European Union – Evolution 1997-1999

The public pay phone penetration rate is very stable in the EU. The penetration rate increased from 3.5 to 3.7 per 100 inhabitants between 1997 and 1999.

The public pay phone penetration rate in the Mediterranean area and Central and Eastern European countries is much more lower : respectively 0.08 and 0.2 per 100 inhabitants.

Graph 22: Number of public pay-phones per 100 inh. in the EU, CEE and mediterranean countries – End 1999

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All data have been collected from readily available public sources of information (annual reports and publications by regulatory bodies, professional associations, operators, etc.). This is not a scientific document, but rather seeks to identify the key trends. To this end, where necessary, estimations have been made.

Additional data and information sources are available in the country reports that can be found on the ESIS Knowledge Base (http://www.ispo.cec.be/esis).

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