Right across the European Union, work is well underway to improve residents' access to broadband internet. Paweł Grzybowski, the Mayor of Rypin (Poland), is actively participating in this process. In Brussels, he represents the ECR Group on the recently created Broadband Platform, while in Kujawsko-Pomorskie he is working effectively to eliminate internet access "white spots".

"A fast internet connection is crucial to developing local communities' intellectual potential and competitiveness. That's why we need to eliminate the internet access 'white spots' within the European Union," said Mr Grzybowski, noting that the most significant problems with access to broadband internet in Poland and other parts of Europe occurred mainly in small communities.

Thus the European Commission and the European Committee of the Regions have launched a joint platform to help bring high-speed broadband to all European regions, including rural and sparsely populated areas where there is not enough market-driven development.

"In the region where Rypin is located, aside from the implementation of large infrastructure projects like 'Infostrada Kujaw i Pomorza', which are intended to improve communications and transmission speeds, work still needs to be carried out in smaller towns. In particular, the fibre-optic backbone is in need of further development as there are still widespread shortcomings in this area. Exchanging experiences within the European Committee of the Regions made me realise that similar problems also exist in other countries. We European local and regional elected representatives can pool our experiences of how best to cope with these challenges."

In Brussels, Paweł Grzybowski stressed that in some locations, fibre-optic networks cannot be built or are too expensive. In such cases, LTE (Long Term Evolution) is a good solution, enabling some locations to be served more easily and at a lower cost.