French consumers can't get enough of broadband, a new Arcep report reveals.
As of the end of March 2011, France had 21.8 million subscribers, an 8 percent or 460,000 rise in new lines, over 2010.
Leading the charge, not surprisingly, was DSL with 20.25 million lines, up from the 18.91 million in 2010. Other broadband technologies (cable, wireless and satellite) rose up to 1.01 million at the end of Q1.
Outside of traditional DSL and wireless, fiber-based broadband rose to 520,000 subscribers, adding a total of 183,000 new subscribers since Q1 last year, a figure that includes 140,000 Fiber to the Home (FTTH) and Fiber to the Business (FTTB) connections.
Since the beginning of 2011, 20,000 new subscribers signed up for fiber-based broadband services. With about 1.13 million homes within reach of fiber, the amount of fiber-based broadband subscribers will continue to grow.
Of course, the challenge that France like other markets faces is the ability to get service providers to make a compelling argument for consumers to switch from their current DSL service to fiber.
For more:
- TeleGeography has this article
Related articles:
France's broadband subscribership rose in Q3
France: 20 million broadband subscribers and counting
French government encourages fiber broadband investments
France amps up its broadband plans