European Union praises network operators

European network operators recorded over 99.9 per cent availability

European network operators are managing their networks responsibly, but availability and resilience levels are still far from uniform across the region, according to a new report (PDF) released today by the European Network and Information Security Agency (Enisa).

The report is Enisa's first step in a multi-year programme to enhance communications resiliency in Europe. The organisation contacted nearly 300 operators across the region, and found an average of only 10 hours downtime a year and over 99.9 per cent availability.

The report also found that the majority of respondents had business continuity planning and risk management procedures in place.

However, Enisa found that network availability varied according to the type of operator, with mobile operators in particular reporting significantly lower availability than their fixed-line counterparts.

"There is reluctance among many operators to discuss the subject," the report said. "This reluctance, combined with the lack of definition of the issue, and insufficiently defined best practices, indicates that the industry is not currently sharing information and ideas about the issue."

The report also highlighted a "small but significant minority of respondents " which do not have business continuity or risk assessment plans, and pointed out that the issue of resilience may not be clearly defined owing to the lack of ownership of the problem by any single role within the operators.