France T
Today, the French incumbent has 66,300 customers accessing the Internet via fiber, and a total of 750,000 households have access to a fiber connection.
The build-out can accelerate thanks to clearer regulation and progress in gaining access to buildings, according to a spokesman at France T
In 2014 and 2015, the operator will spend about another
In general, incumbent operators in Europe are investing more in fiber to the building. It is not a "mad dash", but controlled roll-out, according to Oliver Johnson, CEO at market research company Point Topic.
France T
Fiber penetration in Europe is still low, less than 3 percent for the whole continent, according to Point Topic's data. Countries such as Lithuania, Estonia and Iceland have a much higher fiber penetration rate, thanks to heavy subsidies and the small size of those markets, according to Johnson. However, most of the rest of Europe has a more market-led approach.
Many consumers don't yet feel they need a 100M bps connection all to themselves. It will take another three to five years before demand really starts to take off, boosted by the availability of streaming video in high-definition, Johnson said.
Send news tips and comments to mikael_ricknas@idg.com