Telenco at the core of future FTTH/B roll-outs in Europe

European telecommunications players agreed in 2020 that optical fibre is the starting point for tomorrow's very high-speed networks. Indeed, the delay in meeting the targets set by the Digital Agenda for Europe, as well as the consequences of the pandemic, have convinced telecom operators and governments to put the plentiful FTTH/B deployments back on the agenda and reconsider their objectives for 2025. Telenco supports European telecom players in their fibre roll-out projects and offers a full catalogue of FTTH connectivity solutions.

European incumbent operators to throttle up the installation of FTTH outlets

The demand for FTTH/B network connections has been on the rise for the past 7 years in 39 European and associated countries*, according to an analysis carried out by IDATE DigiWorld. The number of connected subscribers in these 39 countries increased by 337% between 2012 and 2019. The number of subscribers connected to FTTH/B networks calculated for the same period has also registered a significant increase: +186%.

In this promising market, three main players stand out in the race to install FTTH outlets (link PTOs): alternative ISPs, incumbent operators and utilities. If in 2012, alternative ISPs were well ahead of the race accounting alone 71% of FTTH optical telecommunications outlets against only 21% for incumbent operators and 8% for utilities, in 2019 we can notice that operators have caught up and rebalanced the scale as they record 41% of total FTTH/B outlets.

* the 28 European countries (except Cyprus) + 4 CIS countries + Andorra, Iceland, Israel, Northern Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland and Turkey.

The race to FTTH/B roll-outs: a gap between countries at the heart of Europe

Shortly before the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, only 39.4% of European Union had an access to very high-speed networks. For the 39 countries covered by the IDATE analysis, the rate was slightly higher and almost reached 50%. Essentially, the Nordic countries have a fairly high rate of FTTH/B connectivity (link solution FTTH Eline®), as for instance: 96.7% in Iceland, 90.2% in Norway and 94% in Lithuania. At the opposite side, only 15.1 % of the United Kingdom and 10% of Germany has access to ultrafast broadband networks.

There is thus a significant gap between countries situated right at the heart of Europe. The challenge is big: developing the infrastructure required for building the future digital society. To reach that goal, some countries invest massively. Indeed, Russia, France, Spain, Ukraine and Italy register the highest number of FTTH/B optical telecommunications outlets installed between 2015 and 2019

2020 – a key year in the telecommunications industry

If the objectives set out by the Digital Agenda for Europe seemed very ambitious by 2020, the outbreak of the pandemic, and more specifically its consequences on our professional and personal lives, have been like a booster shot to the importance of investing in high-speed and high-quality telecommunications networks. Indeed, social distancing policies have led to a strong overall increase in Internet activity. According to Telecom Italia, Internet traffic raised as much as 70% in this country during the lockdown. In the United Kingdom, up to 60% more traffic was registered by British Telecom compared to the traffic recorded during a normal working week. This new reality has only strengthened the commitment of telecom players to the goals set by the Digital Agenda for Europe:

Objectives by 2020 :

Ensure an access to all European citizens to a connection of at least 30Mbps
Ensure 100Mbps or more for 50% of European households
Ensure 5G connectivity in at least one major city in each European country

Objectives by 2025 :

Enable an access to all socio-economic organizations of at least 1Gbps
Ensure that all European households have access to connections of 100Mbps
Ensure uninterrupted 5G coverage in all urban areas and on major land transportation corridors

Investing in quality networks for ensuring reliable connectivity

To support European telecom players in their copper switch-off projects as well as in building fibre-based networks, Telenco designs and provides a complete offer of FTTH solutions (link Raccordement abonné). Thanks to its two European production units based in France and in Portugal, Telenco provides all the required network equipment to develop very high-speed networks from a Fibre Concentration Point or from the top of a pole to the subscriber’s premises.

The geographical proximity with countries such as Germany or the United Kingdom, more than 20 years of experience in the design, manufacture and export of connectivity solutions, as well as a network of quality carriers makes Telenco the perfect partner for any FTTH roll-out project. Also, the international presence of Telenco’s telecom experts and its design office are a key strength in producing technical specifications and adapting network equipments to the constraints and needs of each fibre roll-out project.