Romania is in first place in Europe for the second consecutive year in fiber optic coverage

Romania is in first place in Europe for the second consecutive year in terms of fiber optic coverage. AFOR participated in the FTTH Conference Europe 2025 in Amsterdam alongside four of its members: TeraPlast, Teledatanet, Micromedia System, and Reco Production.

Romania is in first place in Europe for the second consecutive year in terms of fiber optic coverage. This week, during the FTTH Conference organized by the FTTH Council Europe in Amsterdam, which we had the pleasure of attending with the Romanian Fiber Optic Association and four members: TeraPlast, Teledatanet, Micromedia System, and Reco Production, the annual report on the state of developments and investments in fiber optic, FTTH/B (Projects referred to as Fiber to the Home or Building) was published. Romania leads the ranking of EU27 countries with 93.6% in the Coverage rate indicator. We also top the European ranking regarding national and rural coverage with FTTH/B at 94%, followed by the Netherlands at 93% and Portugal at 91% for national coverage, and Denmark at 92% and Spain at 88% for rural coverage. In terms of the take-up rate, we are in fifth place with 81.73%, with Spain leading at 91.03%, and in terms of penetration rate, we are in third place with 76.49% in EU27, with Portugal leading at 81.95%.

If we are leaders in Europe, how do we rank globally in Fiber Optics? On a global level, we are in 14th place with 76.5% in penetration rate, a ranking led by the UAE at 99.5%, South Korea at 96.6%, and China at 93.6%. We have Portugal and Spain ahead of us from Europe, but France follows closely behind us. Naturally, we wonder whether we can climb this global ranking in the next five years or if we will be surpassed by other countries. Personally, I believe there is a significant difference between Europe and Asia and the Middle East, and these indicators for evaluating the development of fiber optic networks will soon be replaced by other metrics.

Author, Cornel BĂRBUȚ

It remains to be seen where the fiber optic developments in Romania will lead in the next five years, a topic we will discuss at the Romanian Fiber Optic Conference 2025 on May 13, 2025, at Hotel Caro.