Fibre surpasses cable in Portugal

There are now more fibre broadband subscribers than cable in Portugal, according to the latest statistics published by regulator ANACOM.

According to the communications watchdog, there were 3.42 million fixed broadband subscribers in the country at the end of the first quarter, up 44,000 on the previous three months. Fibre now accounts for 34% of access lines, against 33.2% for cable. The balance is made up largely of ADSL homes, accounting for 25.2%. and LTE as a local fixed-access technology, accounting for 7.5%.

Fibre has contributed to growth in broadband more than rival technologies, adding over 50,000 homes a quarter since it was first rolled out in 2015.

Meo continues to be the leading provider of fixed access, with a 40.1% share, down three points on the same period last year, followed by NOS, up 0.8 points to 37.7%. Vodafone was the fastest rising operator in the fixed broadband sector, growing 2.2 points to take a 17.7% share. Apax Group, which owns Nowo and ONI, maintained a share of 4.2%.

Revenues from standalone and bundled fixed internet access stood at around €445.1 million in the first quarter, up 6.8% year-on-year. Mobiel internet access revenues stood at €86.8 million, up 6.4%.

The number of Portuguese mobile broadband users now stands at over 6.5 million, up 0.3% on the previous quarter and up 17.3% on the same period last year.

Meo was the leading mobile broadband provider, followed by Nos and Vodafone.