lished data by the ITU for Albania is evaluated as over 60%, broadband penetration has increased, especially in the broadband mobile segment. At the end of 2013, mobile broadband penetration based on all kinds of equipment, including the smartphone and tablet reached 37%. Also, the tariffs for accessing the Internet have decreased several times by making this service more affordable. The speed for providing the internet service has increased. The most utilized speed increased from 256kbit/s in 2008-2009 to 2-4Mbit/s. Based on LSMS6 data for 2012 and LSMS data for 2008, the number of families owning a PC increased by 4-5 times. A more general overview on the progress of the main indicators of the electronic communications sector is provided in Appendix 2. Despite the progress in the ICT field, Albania is still far away from the average level of not just the EU countries, but the regional ones as well in relation to the access to the infrastructure and the broadband services. National Plan for the development of Broadband The National Plan for the development of broadband is a strategic document for the development of the broadband infrastructure and services, adopted by way of DCM No. 468, dated 30.5.2013. Broadband National Plan is an important development because it provides a clear direction of what the government, public administration and the regulator such as AEPC are going to do for the period of 2013-2020. This plan offers a vision of how access to the internet will develop by being utilized to the maximum by the Albanian families, even in the most remore areas. The Action Plan for the Broadband Development determines as a vision the develo- pment of broadband infrastructure and services in the whole country in order to gain access to the electronic services in different fields, such as, health (e-health), education (e-education), commerce (e-commerce), government services (e-government), by stimulating the economic and social development of the country. Broadband services facilitate fast and complete information for the individuals and businesses, support a better governance, and according to the ITU7 data, the increase of broadband penetration level by 10% brings in an economic growth of the GDP by 1.38% in countries with a low and average economic level. In the framework of the implementation of the Broadband National Plan 2013-2020, a few activities intending to fulfill the set objectives related to the regulatory and technical issues have been undertaken. These activities include the public consultations by AEPC related to the spectrum issue, the national conference on the broadband development by emphasizing the close public-private cooperation and the need for investments, the establishment of the Regional Development Fund to support the projects of rural and regional infrastructure development, ICT, e-governance, e-learning, etc. Transferral of rights of frequence utilization, which represent a limited national resource of a considerable value in the economy of a country, is based on the principle of technological neutrality, by giving the necessary space to the more advanced broadband mobile communications technologies LTE/4G to be applied in their best parameters. An important role in this respect is played by the release of the spectrum called the Digital Divident, currently used for audio-visual broadcasting. The digital divident will be placed at the disposal of the broadband services of the mobile communications, thus directly influencing the increase of the broadband access. Government efforts are 6 Observation for the Subsistence Level carried out by INSTAT 7 http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/treg/broadband/ITU-BB-Reports_Impact-of-Broadband-on-the-Economy.pdf 14