Point Topic: 931.6M Fixed Broadband Connections at end of Q4-2017; VDSL Growth but Copper Connections Continue Decline

At the end of Q4 2017, the quarterly growth of fixed broadband subscribers decreased slightly compared to the previous quarter and stood at 2.1 per cent. The global number of fixed broadband connections stood at 931.6m.

The main trends in Q4 2017:

  • Copper connections continue to decline, having dropped by 6 per cent between Q4 2016 and Q4 2017, while FTTH connections increased by 28 per cent in the same period.
  • A number of countries saw VDSL growth in double digits – Italy 21%, Slovakia 16%, New Zealand 14%, among others.
  • Three quarters of global fixed broadband subscriptions are fibre (FTTH/B/C) and cable based.
  • In more than 40 countries over half of all subscribers use fibre or cable rather than ADSL or other technologies.
  • In 12 months to the end of Q4 2017, China added nearly 70 million FTTH connections. This figure constituted 83% of global FTTH net adds in the period.
Read the full report World Broadband Statistics – Q4 2017The data used in the analysis is taken from Point Topic’s Global Broadband Statistics service.