European Commission Foresees 3% Growth ICT Sector for 2004

The European Commission expects the market for Information Technology and Telecommunications (ICT) in Western Europe to grow by more than 3% in 2004, far outstripping the level of 0.8% in 2003. The worldwide ICT market is expected to grow by well in excess of four percentage points. According to the latest report by the European Information Technology Observatory (EITO), markets in France and Germany are still performing below the ICT average, while Spain is predicted to enjoy the strongest growth.



However, the report also cautions that constraints -- among them a weak economic recovery, budget restrictions, and a lack of skills and technology culture -- will inhibit ICT investment.



Besides current market analysis, EITO 2004 contains studies with special focus on convergence and the digital world, the consumer electronics market in Western Europe and the impacts of ICT on economic growth. EITO 2004 contains 352 pages of statistics, trends and information. The three parts of the yearbook present about 142 tables and 81 figures (price EUR 80). http://www.eito.com/index-eito.html