CW+ Premium Content/CW Europe

The FTTH (fibre-to-the-home) Council of Europe has blamed the tradition of one large incumbent provider and the lack of ambition from the government for the UK lagging behind when it comes to fibre broadband. This week sees the council launch its rankings of those investing the most into FTTH, which brings fibre broadband connectivity straight into homes and businesses, rather than sharing cabinets or copper connections with neighbours, providing much faster speeds for users. In the global rankings – which list countries with a minimum of 1% of its households with FTTH connections – the Asia-Pacific region scored the highest, with South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong claiming the most subscribers. However, even when compared to the rest of Europe, the UK didn’t even rank, as less than 1% of its households have such connections. Nadia Babaali, communications director for FTTH Council Europe said it was not just the UK at fault, as other large economies, such as Germany, were similarly holding back. However, she ...