Report: The number of FTTH/B users in the EU39 countries in Europe exceeded 96 million, and the number of households covered nearly 894 million.

Recently, The FTTH Council Europe announced the FTTH/FTTB development report of EU39 as of the end of September 2019 at the FTTH conference held in Vienna. The 39 countries include: EU 28 (excluding Cyprus), 4 CIS countries, Andorra, Iceland, Israel, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland and Turkey.

The report provides an overview of the latest data on fiber deployment trends in Europe, including a broad market outlook for 2022, and is based on the latest data available in September 2021.

The FTTH Council Europe said they confirmed continued progress in the rollout of fibre. Today, full-fibre connectivity is a clear priority for EU authorities, national governments and European market players.

This market panorama report shows that the total number of households connected via FTTH/FTTB in the EU-39 reached nearly 894.0 million in September 2021, compared to 176.3 million in September 2020. In absolute numbers, France (+4.3 million), the United Kingdom (+3.4 million), Germany (+2.4 million) and Italy (+1.5 million) are the main countries on the list.

Chart Source: The FTTH Council Europe

FTTH/FTTB coverage in Europe exceeds half of all households

The 5 countries with the highest annual growth in terms of housing numbers are Belgium (+109%), Greece (+90%), Cyprus (+83%), the United Kingdom (+80%) and Austria (+62%). FTTH/FTTB coverage in EU-39 is currently at 57% (+4.5%), and EU-27 plus UK FTTH/FTTB coverage is almost half of total households (48.5%, +4.6%). These data confirm the continued upward trend observed for several years in a row.

The number of FTTH and FTTB users in the EU 39 countries reached 96 million, of which the EU 27 countries + the UK accounted for 60%. The five fastest growing markets in terms of new subscribers are France (+3.8 million), Spain (+1.2 million), Romania (+1 million), Italy (+820,000) and the United Kingdom (+765,000).

As of September 2021, the FTTH/FTTB access rate in the EU-39 reached 48.5% (a 3.6% year-on-year increase). In the EU-27 and the UK, this growth was even more rapid, with penetration reaching 52.4% (up 5.6%).

Interestingly, Altnets are still the largest component of FTTH/FTTB. In the EU39, about 57% of households are passed by replacement ISPs, about 39% are passed by existing ISPs, and the remaining 4% are municipal/utility companies. In general, there is a strong acceleration in the deployment of fibre, with a firm commitment to covering both urban and rural areas.

In terms of households not yet covered, these three countries account for 58% of the total number of households covered: more than 32 million in Germany, more than 21 million in the UK, and more than 13 million in Italy. All the countries in the top three are showing clear signs of progress this year.

Global rankings: UAE tops

The FTTH Council Europe revealed that 20 countries have achieved FTTH/FTTB connections with a penetration rate of over 50%. The top 5 countries in the world are the UAE (97%), followed by Singapore (95.8%), China (94.9%), South Korea (91.1%) and Hong Kong (86.2%).

In Europe, Iceland ranks first in the European FTTH/FTTB penetration rankings for the third consecutive year with a penetration rate of 78.4%. It is followed by Spain (68.4%) and Sweden (64.4%) in third place. 7 countries have a penetration rate of over 50% (Iceland, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Norway, Romania, Latvia). Overall, the report states that Eastern European and Northern European countries exhibit relatively high penetration rates, mainly because of active state intervention in favor of fiber expansion.

According to The FTTH Council Europe, market forecasts are in line with previous estimates. It is estimated that in 2027, about 199 million households in the EU-27 and the UK will be connected to FTTH/FTTB networks, while in the EU-39 countries and territories, there will be 309 million. Households are connected to FTTH/FTTB connections. France (31.1 million), the United Kingdom (30.1 million), and Germany (26.9 million) ranked the top three.

Chart Source: The FTTH Council Europe

In EU-27 and the UK, the number of users is expected to reach 124 million; in EU-39, the number will reach 190 million, and user coverage in these two regions is also expected to grow steadily, and it is expected that in EU-27 and EU-39 , the ratio of users to households will reach 62.2% and 61.4% respectively.

The report shows that by September 2021, only 30% of rural residents will have access to the capabilities offered by full-fibre connections (compared to the EU-27 and the UK, where the average European households covered by FTTH/FTTB networks are 49% The five countries with the highest rural FTTH/FTTB coverage are Denmark (76%), Latvia (74%), Spain (66%), Romania (62%) and Luxembourg (55%).

The report emphasizes that immediate action should be taken to eliminate those "blind areas" that do not have FTTH/FTTB connectivity in rural areas. It recommends that support for rural deployment (subsidies, public-private partnerships, etc.) should be actively promoted and strengthened to enable high-speed fibre broadband connectivity in every region of Europe. Finally, it is necessary to strengthen the level of policy and supervision, and comprehensively promote the "Gigabit Society 2025" and "Digital Compass 2030" plans established by the European Union.