Study: Lithuania has highest fiber penetration in Europe

Germany and the U.K have to accelerate fiber broadband build-out, according to industry organization

Lithuania has become the European country with the highest fiber broadband penetration, with fiber access to 18% of its households, according to a survey from industry organization FTTH Council Europe.

Europe trails world on fiber broadband

The former No1, Sweden, has dropped to second place in the ranking of FTTH (fiber to the home) in European countires, and is followed by Norway and Slovenia, which all have a penetration of more than 10%.

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Lithuania has become the European country with the highest fiber broadband penetration, with fiber access to 18% of its households, according to a survey from industry organization FTTH Council Europe.

Europe trails world on fiber broadband

The former No1, Sweden, has dropped to second place in the ranking of FTTH (fiber to the home) in European countires, and is followed by Norway and Slovenia, which all have a penetration of more than 10%.

Fifth to 10th place countries are Estonia, Denmark, Slovakia, Finland, the Netherlands and Italy.

FTTH Council Europe's numbers include FTTH, where the fiber cable is connected directly to the household, and FTTB (fiber-to-the-building), where the fiber cable is terminated inside a multi-tenant building and a LAN is used to connect the households.

Currently, 15 European countries have reached a penetration of 1% or more, according to the FTTH Council Europe. France, Portugal, Czech Republic and Bulgaria had at the end of 2009 joined this group. That France has passed the 1% mark is a step in the right direction, and now Germany and the U.K. have to ramp up its efforts do the same as soon as possible, the FTTH Council Europe said.

There are now 3.5 million subscribers in Europe, including almost 1 million subscribers in Russia. That Russia doesn't figure in the penetration rankings is due to its large population. Lithuania has a relatively small population: the absolute number of FTTH subscribers is higher in Sweden, Italy and France.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.