Europe nears broadband saturation

DSL connectivity across Europe remains on an upward trajectory, with broadband saturation soon to be reached, analyst reports suggest.

Research from the DSL Forum found there are now 167 million broadband subscriptions across Europe, a 45 per cent year on year increase. Of the European broadband population, 8.7 million subscriptions live in the UK with more than three million signing up in the last 12 months.

Separate research from management consultancy Arthur D Little has found that even the broadband laggard nations in Europe will have reached between 80 and 90 per cent penetration by 2012.

After which time growth will come from services such as HD TV and fixed-mobile convergence, the consultancy predicts.

According to the EU, one in four households across the continent now has broadband of some form, with 19 per cent using DSL to get online and four per cent using cable.