The number of broadband connections in Ireland increased by 5% last year, according to an annual report by the European Commission.
The report on the telecoms market says that despite the improvements, broadband access in Ireland is still below the EU average.
A total of 19 million broadband lines were added in the EU last year, which is the equivalent of more than 50,000 households every day.
Ireland had the fourth highest growth in broadband penetration.
By January 2008 17.4% of homes were connected. But Ireland is still behind the EU average of 20% and a long way off countries like Denmark, Finland and Sweden, where almost a third of the population has broadband.
The report highlights the potential for improving the number high speed connections in rural areas, where many people still cannot get broadband.
The report also shows that the mobile phone sector is the largest in the telecoms market and Ireland is ahead of the EU average.
Across the 27 member states, mobile phone penetration is 112% while in Ireland it is 117%.
Ireland tops the list when it comes to changing land line providers. It takes a day to move your number to another provider in Ireland, compared with up to 20 in Italy and Slovakia.
