Belgian fiber market grew fastest of all EU countries in 2021 – IT Pro – News

The Belgian FTTH/B fiber market grew by 109 percent last year, which is the country’s largest increase in FTTH/B connections in relative terms. Last September, 0.6 million Belgian buildings had a fiber optic connection, reports the FTTH Council Europe.

The organisation does not report how many fiber optic connections have been added in Belgium in absolute numbers. The council looked at the period from September 2020 to September 2021. In 2020 the Belgian fiber market was also the fastest growing in Europe; at that time the increase was still 115 percent. The top five for 2021 is completed by Greece, Cyprus and the United Kingdom, where connections grew by 80 to 90 percent year-on-year, and Austria by 62 percent.

In absolute numbers, the number of fiber connections grew the most in France, at 4.3 million. This is followed by the United Kingdom with 3.4 million, Germany with 2.4 million, Italy with 1.5 million and Poland with 1 million connections. No figures are shared about growth in the Netherlands. According to the council, 3.9 million houses in the Netherlands had an FTTH fiber connection last September.

Although the number of fiber optic connections in Belgium grew the fastest last year, this country has the smallest share of fiber optic connections. Last September, according to the council, 11.7 percent of all Belgian buildings had a fiber optic connection. This is 48.5 percent on average across the EU and the United Kingdom. The Netherlands is just above average, at 49 percent.

There were 109 million buildings in the EU and the UK last September passed and there were 57 million fiber subscribers. The council expects 199 million buildings in the EU and the UK to have fiber optic connections by 2027.

–