A new FTTH Council Europe study found that Portugal, Spain, and Sweden are leading the European region in migrating last-mile network facilities from copper to fiber.
Launched at the FTTH Council Europe’s recent Policy Dialogue event, the Copper Switch-Off Tracker has been created in cooperation with independent regulatory intelligence provider Cullen International to show the progress 27 EU member states (and the United Kingdom) are making toward adopting full-fiber broadband infrastructure.
This tracker and report will likely become a key tool for policymakers, regulators, operators, and investors as they consider the policy and market implications of transitioning from copper to fiber.
Roshene McCool, president of FTTH Council Europe, said, “We believe that fiber networks are fundamental to Europe's digital transformation.”
She added, “Phasing out copper networks for fiber infrastructure will lower energy consumption and reduce overall operating costs, therefore making a great contribution to achieving the EU’s Digital Decade objectives.”
Migration leaders
According to the Cullen study, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden are leading the way in phasing out European legacy copper networks.
Portugal’s MEO launched a phase-out project for its copper network in 2019. Later, in 2021, the incumbent provider gave ANACOM information about its copper switch-off plan.
While details about the plan are not publicly available, MEO told the regulator that the process would start in 2022 and take place gradually. Cullen also found that the deadline for copper switch-off is confidential.
Spain’s Telefonica plan, devised in 2014, was accepted by the regulator CNMC. The incumbent will complete the switch-off by May 2025. Nearly half of the copper-based local exchanges have already been closed.
In Sweden, Telia’s copper migration plan, launched in 2015, is set to be completed by 2026. PTS, the country’s telecom regulator, approved the plan and continues to oversee its implementation.
Varying stages
One of the telling elements of the study is how slow the progress has been made.
The tracker and study showed that the incumbent operators have a plan for complete copper switch-off in only 12 countries. The plans are publicly available in 8 of these 12 countries, while in others, like Portugal, they are confidential.
Unlike Portugal, Spain and Sweden, which have discontinued large portions of their legacy copper networks, the report also reveals that other member states, including Germany, Greece and Czech Republic, aren’t as far along and still rely on copper.
In Germany, Deutsche Telekom has not publicly discussed its plans to shut down its copper network. Cullen noted that the German incumbent is discussing its copper switch-off in the Gigabit Forum with the country’s telecom regulator, other operators, and associations. DT conducted three small pilots in 2024.
Germany’s telecom regulator set a goal of having fiber to the home and the latest wireless standards in place by 2030.
Greece has not presented a plan for shutting down the copper network.
Meanwhile, the Czech Republic’s telecom regulator imposed transparency requirements on the SMP operator CETIN regarding the transition of services from copper to fiber, but only in 33 geographic areas covering approximately 5% of the country’s population. CETIN is then required to provide one year of notice to those wholesale partners that currently use copper networks about its intention to switch off.
Cullen noted that consumers will ultimately have a choice on what services they can purchase
“In all the analyzed countries, the incumbent can terminate retail contracts for copper-based services,” the study’s author said, but added, "It remains up to the end user to decide whether to subscribe to a fiber-based service instead and from which operator.”
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Sean Buckley
Sean is responsible for establishing and executing the editorial strategies of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report across their websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products.