The total number of homes passed with Fibre to the Home (FTTH) and Fibre to the Building (FTTB) in the EU391 reached nearly 198.4 million homes in September 2021, compared to 176.3 million in September 2020.
The main movers in terms of homes passed in absolute numbers are France (+4.3 M), United Kingdom (+3.4 M), Germany (+2.4 M) and Italy (+1.5 M).
The top 5 of the annual growth rates in terms of homes passed is headed by Belgium (+109%), Greece (+90%), Cyprus (+83%), United Kingdom (+80%) and Austria (+62%). FTTH/B coverage rate in EU39 now amounts 57% (up by 4.5%) and coverage rate in the EU27+UK nearly reaches half of total homes – 48.5% (up by 4.6%). These data confirm the continuous upward trend which has been observed for several years in a row. 1 EU39 is defined as 27 European Union Member States + United Kingdom + 4 CIS countries + Andora, Iceland, Israel, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey.
The number of FTTH and FTTB subscribers in EU39 region reached 96 million, with EU27+UK accounting for 60%. The 5 fastest growing markets in terms of new subscribers were France (+3.8 M), Spain (+1.2 M), Romania (+1 M), Italy (+820k) and United Kingdom (+765k).
By September 2021, the EU39 FTTH/B take-up rate2 raised to 48.5% (up by 3.6% from the previous year). The growth was even more rapid in the EU27+UK, where the take-up rate reached 52.4% (up by 5.6%).
Alternative Internet Service Providers are still constituting the largest part of FTTH/B players, with around 57% of the total homes in the EU39 being passed by alternative ISPs and around 39% by the incumbent ISPs, with the remaining 4% being municipalities/utilities. Overall, there is a strong trend of acceleration of fibre deployment with a firm commitment to cover both urban and rural areas.
In terms of the homes still to be covered, the three countries represent 58% of the total number of households to be covered: Germany with more than 32 M, United Kingdom with more than 21 M and Italy with more than 13 M. All of the top 3 countries show clear signs of progress being made in 2022.
“The data from the latest Market Panorama confirms that fibre roll-out is steadily advancing at an increasingly faster pace. We can say with confidence that we are on the right track to meet the EU’s ambitious connectivity targets set out by “Gigabit Society 2025” and “Digital Compass 2030” strategies, yet the current momentum needs to be maintained and for this to happen the support at the political and regulatory level will be key,” said Eric Festraets, President of the FTTH Council Europe.
“The data clearly shows that we are achieving a great progress in terms of fibre roll-out, thus contributing to the twin digital and green transition which will reshape how Europeans work, live and do business,” said Vincent Garnier, Director General of the FTTH Council Europe. “The full fibre connectivity will be key to achieve the EU’s ambitious climate and sustainability targets. Moreover, the Covid-19 pandemic led to more data traffic and more demand, clearly demonstrating the necessity to intensify FTTH deployment and adoption.”
source: www.ftthcouncil.eu
