Technology enablers
1. Mobile penetration rates
Mobile penetration rates in Commonwealth Europe are high as compared to other Commonwealth regions.
While there is insufficient documentation, the penetration of smartphones in the countries of Malta, Cyprus, and the United Kingdom is noted as having one of the highest smartphone penetration rates in the world[30]i.e., an estimated 83 per cent of the adult population in the United Kingdom are smartphone subscribers. Additionally, about 65 per cent of the households in all the European Commonwealth countries had at least one personal computer by 2016.[31]
Mobile Cellular Subscriptions (per 100 people)
Malta
Cyprus
United Kingdom
2. Internet penetration rates
Internet penetration in Commonwealth Europe is comparatively higher than in other Commonwealth regions.
The drivers of high internet penetration and connectivity are presented as follows:
Presence of sub-marine and terrestrial cabling that provides consistent connectivity. The United Kingdom has one of the highest numbers of submarine cable connections, with more than 65 cable landing stations, and over 400 sub-marine cables that link the country to major routing hubs in the United States and Europe. Cyprus and Malta have 4 and 5 submarine cable landing stations respectively. The countries each have more than 4 sub-marine connections. This puts them at an advantage in case of any disruptions such as climate shocks compared to other island countries, for example those in the Caribbean region.
Roll-out of 5G. Noteworthy is the fact that several mobile operators in the United Kingdom firmly embraced 5G technology in 2019 and rolled out deployments in major cities across the nation. While the 5G experience varies by operator, its roll-out by major network operators in the country is expected to greatly enhance upload and download speeds, which will in turn improve the consumption in internet services as more consumers make the shift from 4G to 5G.
Individuals using the the internet (% of population)
United Kingdom
Cyprus
Malta
“The United Kingdom has one of the highest numbers of submarine cable connections...Cyprus and Malta have 4 and 5...This puts them at an advantage in case of any disruptions such as climate shocks compared to other island countries, for example those in the Caribbean region.”
This chart compares the GSMA mobile connectivity indices of Commonwealth Europe countries.
All the assessed countries had index scores of more than 60. The score reveals a more enabling environment for digitalisation in Commonwealth Europe as compared to Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.6
Non-technology enablers
1.Sizes of agricultural land
As seen in locations with similarly large commercial farming arrangements, farm sizes with large land areas were ideal for smart farming methods in order to recoup return on investment, through more effective application of agricultural inputs like water, pesticides and fertilisers at scale.[32]
2. High literacy rates
The education levels of farmers in Commonwealth Europe are considerably high. At least one-third have pursued and obtained qualifications for courses or higher education in agriculture or related subjects. This share is also higher than the total share of farm managers with at least basic agricultural training in Malta (31 per cent). In Cyprus, 28 per cent of the total farm managers attained basic or full agricultural training by 2016. Farmers with such high levels of education have a better understanding of the benefits of digital technologies farming solutions and are hence more likely to invest in them.[33]
3. Large scale monoculture (growing one crop) as opposed to inter-cropping more than one crop on the same plot of land
As is the case in Australia and New Zealand, aerial imagery thrives in the United Kingdom because monoculture is practiced on a large scale. Utilisation of aerial imagery is hard when more than one crop is grown on the same piece of land. Overall, this section compares the GSMA mobile connectivity indices of European Commonwealth countries. All the assessed countries had index scores of more than 60. The score reveals a more enabling environment for digitalisation in the European, Commonwealth Countries.[34] As compared to those in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.
Footnotes
1 Author computations from the World Bank indicator database
2 internetNz., 2017., State of the Internet in New Zealand, https://internetnz.nz/assets/Archives/State-of-the-Internet-2017.pdf
3 New Zoo., 2019, The Global mobile market report, https://newzoo.com/insights/trend-reports/newzoo-global-mobile-market-report-2019-light-version/
4 Zia Mehrabi et al., 2021, The global divide in data-driven farming, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-020-00631-0
5 https://tcdata360.worldbank.org/ - (accessed on 14th July 2021)
6 Global System for Mobile Communications., 2020, Mobile Connectivity Index (Methodology)