In the third quarter of 2020, WIK-Consult updated its previous study of 2018 on challenges and opportunities regarding the switch-off of copper telecommunication networks in Europe (and the consequent migration to fibre networks). For this review questionnaires and interviews with NRAs and stakeholders were organized in 10 relevant European countries. Conclusions consider possible implications for policy-makers and regulators.
Since 2018, further progress towards copper switch-off has been made in Estonia and Sweden, which were already frontrunners. However, the pace of migration has still been slow in countries such as Spain and Portugal, even though fibre is widespread in these countries. Then there are countries with still limited fibre deployment like Germany, Poland and the UK where only recently attention shifted towards the investments required. France and the Netherlands have ‘escaped’ this last group as concrete plans have been implemented to achieve copper switch-off and fibre roll-out by the incumbents.
In general, where FTTH has been widely deployed, considerable benefits could be gained by switching-off overlapping copper networks. For the operator these are reduced operational costs and an improved business case for its fibre roll-out and for the customer improved quality of service. Beneficial for the environment and society are the reduced CO2 emissions of fibre networks in relation to the data consumed.
So what is holding operators back? This ranges from reluctance regarding investments in fibre access networks to persuading customers and access seekers to migrate to new fibre networks. Successful operators tend to ease the process of phasing out legacy equipment for customers. They can support the migration through “plug and play” devices and processes that support analogue equipment and avoid site visits. Meanwhile, experience shows that more complex business needs should be managed on a case by case basis.
Furthermore, there are regulatory aspects such as long notice periods (up to 5 years) for network operators who plan to switch-off copper exchanges and migrate associated wholesaling access, which may have delayed the migration as well. When analysing the different approaches and outcomes, we identified 5 areas where policy makers could take action to expedite the migration to fibre networks:
The study is available for dowload.
