Open Fiber launches FTTH in nine L'Aquila localities
ITALY 19 DEC

Open Fiber launches FTTH in nine L'Aquila localities

Italian wholesale-only operator Open Fiber said it has completed the cabling of its FTTH infrastructure in several new localities in the central L'Aquila region. Over 5,500 homes, commercial premises and offices in Acciano, Castel di Ieri, Fagnano Alto, Fontecchio, Gagliano Aterno, Goriano Sicoli, Molina Aterno, Secinaro, and Tione degli Abruzzi have been connected to the fibre network, allowing residents and businesses to access the internet at speeds of up to 2.5 Gbps via operator partners.

Tigo invests COP 85 bln in Bogota 5G and fibre upgrade
COLOMBIA 19 DEC

Tigo invests COP 85 bln in Bogota 5G and fibre upgrade

Tigo Colombia (Millicom) said it has invested over COP 85 billion this year alone to significantly expand and upgrade its fixed and mobile infrastructure in Bogota. The company, which has recently been cleared to merge with Movistar Colombia, has reinforced more than 1,700 mobile sites and carried out 275 upgrades to fixed networks in the country's capital, benefiting some 2.4 million mobile and 200,000 landline customers.

Quickline provides free fibre broadband to 50 community hubs
UNITED KINGDOM 19 DEC

Quickline provides free fibre broadband to 50 community hubs

Quickline Communications, UK rural broadband provider, has reached the milestone of providing free full-fibre broadband to 50 community hubs across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. The 50th community hub to benefit from this digital inclusion scheme is the Scotton Digital Hub, which was installed in October with support from Community First Yorkshire. Amelia Williamson, Quickline's Social Values Executive, said the milestone reflected the company's long-term commitment to closing the digital divide. 

FiberCop tests Italy's first 400 Gbps fibre link
ITALY 19 DEC

FiberCop tests Italy's first 400 Gbps fibre link

Italian wholesale operator FiberCop said it has carried out the country's first 400 Gbps fibre access test in collaboration with the Politecnico di Torino. The trial, conducted in Turin, marks the first successful use of coherent transmission on a point-to-multipoint optical network over a single fibre while maintaining coexistence with current GPON and XGS-PON technologies used by residential customers.

Frogfoot set to increase fibre prices in February
SOUTH AFRICA 19 DEC

Frogfoot set to increase fibre prices in February

South African fibre network operator (FNO) Frogfoot will increase its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) pricing on 01 February 2026, MyBroadband reported citing a notice from Vox Telecom sent to its fibre customers on Frogfoot's network. One customer told the news portal that their mid-range fibre package was going up by 12.65 percent. The notice says that Vox's general terms and conditions allows Vox to lift its charges for the affected service in proportion to the rise in cost.

NTT East demonstrates automated optical path switching for disaster recovery
JAPAN 19 DEC

NTT East demonstrates automated optical path switching for disaster recovery

NTT East, working with NTT and the National Institute of Informatics (NII), has successfully demonstrated a technology that automatically reconfigures optical transmission paths in response to network conditions, enabling traffic to be rerouted within 10 minutes during major disasters. The organisations said the trial is the first to show automated route switching and on-demand addition of optical wavelength paths, including wavelength conversion, based on real-time communication conditions.

PSO expands fibre coverage by 48,000 households in November
POLAND 18 DEC

PSO expands fibre coverage by 48,000 households in November

Polish wholesale operator Polski Swiatlowod Otwarty (PSO) announced that it covered more than 20,000 new households with its fibre network at 84 locations in November. Most of the new home connections were in Warsaw (1,942), Krakow (977) and Wroclaw (864). The operator also upgraded almost 28,000 addresses on its hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC) network to the FTTH standard. So, the total coverage of its fibre-optic network has increased by almost 48,000 households.

Telekom Slovenije connects nearly 60% of Slovenian homes with fibre
SLOVENIA 18 DEC

Telekom Slovenije connects nearly 60% of Slovenian homes with fibre

Telekom Slovenije announced it has achieved a significant milestone, providing over half a million Slovenian households - almost 60 percent of the nation's homes - with access to its fibre-optic network. The network offers symmetrical speeds up to 5 Gbps and, with upgrades to XGS-PON technology in future, will reach speeds of up to 10 Gbps. In areas where fibre is not yet available, Telekom Slovenije offers broadband internet access through its 5G network, which covers 99 percent of Slovenia's population.

Iliad's Free increases termination fee for Freebox customers to EUR 69
FRANCE 18 DEC

Iliad's Free increases termination fee for Freebox customers to EUR 69

French operator Free, part of the Iliad group, has raised the termination fee owed by Freebox customers cancelling their fixed broadband service. According to Free's latest tariff brochure, the fee is now EUR 69, marking the second consecutive increase this year. On 01 April, it went up from EUR 49 to EUR 59.

Magyar Telekom secures additional funding for fibre rollout
HUNGARY 18 DEC

Magyar Telekom secures additional funding for fibre rollout

Hungary's Magyar Telekom has been awarded an additional HUF 6.82 billion in subsidies through the Gigabit Hungary Program, allowing the company to extend its gigabit fixed network to approximately 38,000 additional access points that currently lack fibre coverage. These awards are part of a larger initiative by the Hungarian state announced in July to expand fibre networks to areas without access, aiming to cover around 600,000 access points across 174 districts in Hungary (excluding Budapest) using EU fund

Ripple Fiber invests USD 60 million to expand into California
UNITED STATES 18 DEC

Ripple Fiber invests USD 60 million to expand into California

Ripple Fiber has announced an investment of more than USD 60 million to expand operations into California. This will be the 10th US state where Ripple operates, initially delivering high-speed fibre broadband services to around 50,000 homes in Kern County. Network construction will start in early-2026 in Bakersfield, before expanded to more cities in nearby counties across Southern California. Ripple expects to launch services for customers in Q1 2026.

TAM-1 cable lands in Costa Rica
COSTA RICA 18 DEC

TAM-1 cable lands in Costa Rica

Costa Rica's state-owned telecom operator ICE announced the arrival of the Trans American Fiber System's TAM-1 submarine cable in the Caribbean port city of Limón. The system, developed in partnership with ICE, is expected to expand Costa Rica's international capacity 23-fold when it begins operations in January 2026.

LUXEMBOURG 18 DEC

Orange Luxembourg offers FTTR connectivity to Livebox customers

Orange announced that it has become the first operator in Luxembourg to introduce FTTR (Fibre To The Room) connectivity. This service extends multi-gigabit performance through the use of nearly invisible cabling. Livebox fibre customers can now benefit from FTTR as part of their existing package at the same monthly rate. Subscribers are responsible for the cost of the FTTR equipment and the associated labour for installation, which varies depending on individual requirements.

UNITED KINGDOM 18 DEC

Ofcom consults on fixed telecoms market regulation in Hull Area

UK regulator Ofcom is consulting on proposals for regulating fixed telecoms markets in the Hull Area for a 5-year period from November 2026. The consultation closes on 26 February 2026, with Ofcom aiming to publish a final decision in October 2026. The Hull Area has around 200,000 premises, with Kcom historically having a clear monopoly. Rival companies have been building their own networks in Hull since 2021 - including MS3 Networks, CityFibre and Grain Connect - with around 7 in 10 premises now having a c

NETHERLANDS 18 DEC

Netherlands sees gigabit broadband grow to 1 in 6 households in Q3

One in six Dutch households (16.5%) have broadband speeds of 1 Gbps or greater, a small increase in the third quarter according to the latest market monitor from regulatory agency ACM. The majority of households (74.4%) are in the range 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps, and the remainder have speeds under 100 Mbps. 

ALGERIA 18 DEC

Algeria plans to start building new submarine cable imminently

The government plans to connect to a new undersea fibre-optic cable to boost internet speeds, Algeria Press Service reported citing ICT minister Sid Ali Zerrouki. He said construction of the cable project would begin by 20 December, but gave no details such as the name of the infrastructure, its capacity, cost, technical partners or commissioning schedule.Algeria is currently connected to five submarine cables, namely the TE North/TGN-Eurasia/SEACOM/Alexandros/Medex, SeaMeWe-4, Oran-Valencia (ORVAL), Med Ca

UNITED STATES 17 DEC

US fibre carriers add coverage, passing 12 million extra homes in year to September

US fibre-to-the-home expansions continued apace in 2025, adding 11.8 million homes passed and marketed in the year to September, up from 10.3 million in the previous twelve months, according to the latest figures from the Fiber Broadband Association. The total footprint of FTTH passings in the US reached 98.3 million, and the association estimates over 60 percent of US households are now in reach of fibre infrastructure. According to its research, fibre is on track to surpass cable as the nation's dominant

UNITED KINGDOM 17 DEC

North Lanarkshire connects social housing properties to ultrafast broadband

North Lanarkshire Council in Scotland has announced plans to connect all 36,000 council homes (social housing) with ultrafast broadband over the next 5-7 years. The roll-out is designed to help close the digital divide. A recent council meeting has agreed to launch a tender to procure a supplier for the broadband connectivity, and to identify pilot sites for the project.

GERMANY 17 DEC

DCC Duisburg CityCom partners Vitroconnect to open up network to providers

DCC Duisburg CityCom (DCC), the IT and telecommunications service provider of the city of Duisburg, signed an agreement with Vitroconnect to use the latter's Carrier Aggregation Platform (CAP) and open up its network to other providers. DCC has reinforced its IT architecture to connect via automated interfaces to Vitroconnect's CAP, which manages ordering, switching, troubleshooting, and service processes for DCC.

UNITED KINGDOM 17 DEC

PXC announces launch of CityFibre Business FTTP for partners

UK wholesale connectivity provider Platform X Communications (PXC) has confirmed the launch of CityFibre Business FTTP, providing more business connectivity solutions for partners. CityFibre Business FTTP through PCX provides symmetrical bandwidth of up to 1 Gbps, with Layer 3 Managed and Layer 2 Wholesale options available to choose from. 

UNITED KINGDOM 17 DEC

Community Fibre offers free broadband for three months

London-based ISP Community Fibre has launched a new promotion offering three months of free full-fibre broadband for new customers. New customers will also get a free router and free set-up. The offer is available with 12 and 24-month contracts until 23.59 hours on 28 December 2025, with customers able to save up to GBP 435 (versus national providers) depending on the package selected.

ANGOLA 17 DEC

Unitel inaugurates 2Africa submarine cable in Angola

Angolan operator Unitel has inaugurated the 2Africa submarine cable at the Kanda site in Cacuaco. As the only Angolan operator involved in the international project, Unitel was responsible for establishing the landing station in Angola. This expansion of international data connectivity is expected to deliver high-quality services to residents, supporting industries such as banking, health, telemedicine and agricultural services. Spanning approximately 45,000 km with a capacity of up to 180 Tbps, the 2Africa

NETHERLANDS 17 DEC

Glasdraad hands network management to BAM Telecom

Dutch fibre network operator Glasdraad signed a multi-year contract with BAM Telecom for managing infrastructure. As a result the contractor will take over full management of the Glasdraad fibre network from January, including maintenance, monitoring and optimisation. The contract is expected to support stable, future-proof connections for residents and businesses in the outlying areas and villages where Glasdraad operates. 

MOROCCO 17 DEC

Medusa cable lands in Morocco

The Medusa submarine cable officially landed in Nador, Morocco, marking a major milestone in the country's international connectivity and digital infrastructure development. The landing follows the recent deployments in Marseille (France) in October and Bizerte (Tunisia) in November, reinforcing the system's steady progression across both shores of the Mediterranean. The landing establishes a new strategic access point linking Morocco to European Mediterranean connectivity networks and expanding data exchan

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Commentary

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Video market set for slower growth ahead

11:38

Netflix buys Warner Bros to deepen content catalogue

11:11

KPN's mixed performance in Q3 raises questions for strategy day

15:26

Stock markets breaking records but what happened to Odido's IPO plans?

Background

01:04

The week in telecom: Wi-Fi bolt-ons take off to boost broadband growth, video market works on consolidation

01:39

The week in telecom: Netflix wins bidding for Warner Bros, Apple poaches new execs, Samsung debuts trifold

13:51

Proximus vs. Telenet: Proximus performs better in Q3 while Telenet uses up cash

14:16

Proximus Domestic still struggling with low margins