FTTH roll out in Europe makes for a promising, connected future

FTTH roll out in Europe makes for a promising, connected future

2020.05.12

In our new digital world, technologies are evolving quicker and the scale of IoT adoption is set to grow at an unprecedented rate. As a result, smart devices are becoming increasingly present throughout homes and offices, with consumers and enterprises alike demanding faster, more reliable connectivity.

Fixed networks will play a crucial role supporting the adoption and evolution of these new devices and applications. 5G is expected to bring extraordinary transformation, and the future digital generations will not only demand higher bandwidth but expect it in order to meet their connectivity needs. Especially during these unprecedented times, reliable digital infrastructure has never played such a crucial role, connected families, enabling business activities and working from home. Providing critical backhaul and fronthaul, fiber is likely to underpin all of these connectivity needs, both fixed and wireless.

A promising start

That is why the recent New Fiber Market Panorama 2020 was welcomed across the industry. According to the data, presented by the FTTH Council Europe, fiber is being deployed at an increasingly faster pace across Europe. Findings show that France, Italy, and Spain saw the biggest increases in the number of homes passed, while confirming that Fiber-To-The-Home / Building (FTTH/B) coverage in Europe extends to nearly half of total homes.

These latest results show how hard operators have been working to ensure the next-generation infrastructure needed for the new era of connectivity we are approaching. Operators need to continue to invest in the development of their networks now to ensure they can withstand the capacity upsurge expected not only during these uncertain times, but in the future too.

The next stage of connectivity

With ever-increasing capacity requirements, the report found that the number of homes passed by FTTH/B has reached nearly 172 million in Europe. This is compared with 160 million in 2018, and now 19 countries have more than 2 million homes passed. However, this number is set to evolve as some organizations modify their strategies by deploying more FTTH solutions, migrating from existing copper based and cable-based networks. Therefore, wireless communications will rely more heavily on the fixed network and we will see a growing emergence of converged networks.

In terms of the current situation, high capacity connectivity is not only demanded but is fundamental to meet today’s accelerating need for high-speed symmetrical bandwidth as well as the latency and reliability requirements of next-gen applications.

Creating a brighter future

European fiber network providers are currently experiencing a great amount of pressure during these uncertain times. Fiber infrastructure will enable efficient business and make access to information more democratic, which is viewed as important to both government and private entities. FTTH access will also enhance end-users’ connected experience and enable ubiquitous connectivity to be delivered to all corners of residential and commercial premises.

The telecoms industry is characterized by constant change and evolution. Therefore, as connectivity demands reach unprecedented levels year on year, the industry must embrace the digital transformation and continue to move forward with fiber infrastructure to allow seamless evolution to the networks of tomorrow.