Fiber surpasses HFC for fixed broadband in OECD countries
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reports that fiber became the most used medium for delivering broadband services among its 32 member countries last year. Fiber to the home/building (FTTH/B) accounts for 50% or more of fixed broadband subscribers in 13 OECD countries and 34.9% overall.
The OECD broadband portal reflects the fact that FTTH/B subscriber connections grew 18.6% in 2021 to surpass cable/HFC, which accounts for 32.4% of fixed broadband subscriptions. DSL provided 27% of connections last year amid an overall decline (see figure above).
The OECD countries in which FTTH/B serves more than 50% of fixed broadband subscribers includes:
- Chile
- Finland
- Luxembourg
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Portugal
- Iceland
- Japan
- Korea
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Spain
- Sweden.
FTTH/B provides more than 70% of fixed broadband subscriber connections in the last seven countries in this list.
Overall, fixed broadband subscriptions grew in almost all OECD countries, increasing by 3.9% across the OECD domain. Such subscriptions totaled 472 million, up from 454 million in December 2020, to average 34.4 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants within the OECD membership. Switzerland saw a penetration rate of 48.4 subscriptions per 100 people, followed by France (46%), Norway (45%), and Denmark (45%).
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.