There were almost 4.6 million FTTH/B subscribers in Europe at the end of June, up 14 percent over the first six months of 2011. According to the figures from the FTTH Council Europe, prepared by Idate, there were over 25 million homes passed by FTTH networks, up 26 percent from the start of the year. The figures are for 35 European countries and notably exclude Russia, which alone added 964,000 fibre subscribers in the first half, for a total 5.15 million at end-June. Countries in Eastern Europe have led the growth, with Hungary and Ukraine the latest countries to enter the council's rankings for FTTH/B penetration, at 11th and 16th places respectively. The Hungarian market had 235,055 FTTH/B subscribers, supported by over 290,000 homes passed by incumbent Magyar Telekom. Ukraine had 450,000 FTTH/B subscribers, thanks to expansion by Vimpelcom. Lithuania still leads the rankings, with 26.6 percent of households subscribing to FTTH/B, followed by Norway, Sweden, Slovenia, Russia, Slovakia, Latvia, Bulgaria, Estonia and Denmark (all with a penetration of at least 6 percent). In terms of total subscribers, Russia was the largest market, followed by Sweden with 625,000 subscribers and France with almost 560,000. The study found that alternative carriers, including cable operators, accounted for 55 percent of FTTH/B homes passed in Europe. Local and public authorities accounted for the largest number of projects and 12 percent of homes passed. In terms of technology, Ethernet represented 71 percent of all FTTH/B roll-outs at the end of June, and FTTB accounted for 61 percent of roll-outs. The complete study for 2011 will be presented at the FTTH Conference in Munich in February 2012.
