European Fibre Leaders Welcome Turkey to Their Ranks

Latvia, Portugal and Turkey are the Movers and Shakers in the Latest Update to the FTTH Rankings

MILAN — FTTH CONFERENCE — The second half of 2010 was a period of accelerated growth in FTTH networks, both in terms of buildings passed and subscribers connected, the FTTH Council Europe revealed in an exclusive presentation to journalists at the FTTH Conference in Milan. Overall there are now nearly 3.9 million FTTH subscribers in Europe (8.1 million including Russia), an increase of 18 percent in just six months.

The data also show which countries are leading the way in terms of FTTH subscriber penetration at the end of 2010. The top five places in Europe’s FTTH Ranking were hotly contested but remained unchanged. Lithuania retained the top spot, followed by Sweden, Norway, Slovenia and Slovakia.

Turkey joined the FTTH Ranking in the second half of 2010 and was one of the most dynamic markets. SuperOnline, a subsidiary of the country’s largest mobile operator Turkcell, launched FTTH services at the end of 2009, and has collected around 200,000 subscribers during the first year. The operator aims to bring 1 million homes within reach of its FTTH network by the end of 2011.

Portugal and Latvia also enhanced their position in the Ranking. The number of FTTH subscribers in Latvia nearly tripled, thanks to the upgrade program of incumbent operator Lattelecom, whose network now covers more than one third of households in the country. In Portugal, three operators are busy adding FTTH subscribers: the incumbent Portugal Telecom, whose network now passes 1 million homes, alternative operator Sonaecom and cable company ZON Multimedia.

Russia remains a specific market. Russia’s huge potential is now confirmed and the country had the highest growth in absolute numbers, with an additional 895,000 subscribers in six months.

“Fibre to the home is becoming a truly international phenomenon,” declared Chris Holden, President of the FTTH Council Europe. “In the second half of 2010 Turkey became the 18th country to join the FTTH European Ranking. Emerging markets are very dynamic and often enter the Ranking in high positions, above the more mature markets of Northern and Western Europe. It is becoming increasingly obvious that major economies like Germany, Spain and the UK need to speed up or risk getting left behind.”

The FTTH Council Europe’s unique Ranking is part of its Market Panorama study. The data, which are collected by analysts at research firm IDATE, show the percentage of households that receive broadband services over optical fibre connected directly to their home or building.

The complete FTTH Global Ranking for 2010, which also incorporates data from the FTTH Councils of Asia-Pacific and North America, will be announced at the FTTH Conference tomorrow, 10 February.

Note: The FTTH Ranking is based on the definition of FTTH/B agreed by the three FTTH Councils. It includes fibre to the home (FTTH), where the fibre connection reaches the household, and fibre to the building (FTTB), where fibre terminates inside the boundary of a multi-tenant building. The Ranking covers all countries with more than 200,000 households where FTTH/B penetration exceeds 1% of the total number of homes.