Telecoms in Europe - statistics & facts
Europe is among the world’s best-connected regions, with a highly developed and competitive telecommunications industry serving business and consumer customers across the continent. Europe had the highest share of unique mobile subscribers among global regions as of 2023, with 91 percent of the European population being a mobile subscriber, as well as the highest share of broadband connections per 100 inhabitants. As elsewhere, a core focus of the market has been the deployment of upgraded fixed and mobile networks.
5G and fiber in the spotlight
Overall network coverage in Europe is high. Almost the entire population had mobile network coverage in 2023, while around 92 percent of EU households were covered by broadband networks exceeding 30Mbps as of the previous year. Despite this, there is a push from governments, regulators, and network operators to improve data transfer speeds and reliability via the rollout of next-generation technology. 5G is the key priority in mobile, offering significant gains over 4G networks. In 2023, a fifth of mobile connections in Europe were 5G, with this figure forecast to increase to over 80 percent by 2030. In fixed broadband, fiber to the premises (FTTP) has taken center stage, offering customers greatly improved service over traditional copper networks.
The progress of next-gen rollouts has varied across the continent
As of 2022, there was a great disparity in the coverage of next-generation networks between European countries. Cyprus and Malta led the way in 5G coverage, with all households covered, followed closely by the Netherlands and Italy. Meanwhile, Romania had the best FTTP coverage at over 95 percent, followed by Spain and Portugal. However, in both 5G and FTTP, the majority of surveyed countries fell short of the 75 percent mark, with challenges reaching rural areas and issues surrounding legacy infrastructure among the key hurdles.
The EU explores new regulations for tech firms
The European Union (EU) plays a key role in the evolution of the telecommunications industry within the 27-country bloc. This includes the approval of large cross-border mergers between network operators, as well as the direction funding for infrastructure deployment. In early 2023, the European Commission launched an exploratory consultation to consider calls from network operators for the establishment of a framework in which big tech firms would be required to help fund the rollout of network infrastructure. However, the shelving of these plans in late 2023 amid resistance from some member states has pushed any potential implementation back to 2025 at the earliest. Nonetheless, as services such as Netflix and YouTube drive ever increasing data consumption across Europe, network operators and industry bodies are expected to continue pushing for a lasting solution.
