FTTH subscriber growth accelerates says FTTH Council Europe

The growth in the number of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) or fiber to the building (FTTB) subscribers is picking up in Europe, according to the latest figures presented at the FTTH Conference 2014 in Stockholm, Sweden. However, there is much work to be done before the region can be considered a mature market.

The total number of FTTH/B subscribers in Europe’s EU28 increased by 29% in 2013 – substantially faster than the year before when growth was around 15%. In total, 13 countries in the European Union experienced growth in FTTH/B subscribers of greater than 30% over the past year, including Spain (64%), the Netherlands (43%), France, and Portugal (each 41%).

The growth rate in subscribers (29%) was greater than the increase in homes passed (22%). The FTTH Council Europe views this positively, because it indicates that FTTH is becoming more attractive to consumers. “It is good news for operators, who all need to see a better return on their investment. It is also good news for end users, because a larger subscriber base will encourage more companies to develop services and applications, and help drive down consumer prices,” the organization said.

When countries outside the European Union are included – what the FTTH Council Europe calls the EU39 – the growth rate was even higher. Russia alone counts almost 9 million subscribers, of which 1.4 million were added in 2013. The largest FTTH/B markets in the European Union are France and Sweden, which exceed 1.2 million FTTH/B subscribers each, while the Ukraine has 1.3 million subscribers, and Turkey has 1.1 million. According to figures the FTTH Council Europe released at the show, European countries are starting to move up the ranks of countries with at least 1% broadband penetration, as the chart below shows.