European Fibre Leaders Welcome Turkey to Their Ranks

FTTH CONFERENCE, MILAN, February 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ –

– Latvia, Portugal and Turkey are the Movers and Shakers in the Latest
Update to the FTTH Rankings

The second half of 2010 was a period of accelerated growth in FTTH
networks, both in terms of buildings passed and subscribers connected, the
FTTH Council Europe revealed in an exclusive presentation to journalists at
the FTTH Conference in Milan. Overall there are now nearly 3.9 million FTTH
subscribers in Europe (8.1 million including Russia), an increase of 18
percent in just six months.

The data also show which countries are leading the way in terms of FTTH
subscriber penetration at the end of 2010. The top five places in Europe’s
FTTH Ranking were hotly contested but remained unchanged. Lithuania retained
the top spot, followed by Sweden, Norway, Slovenia and Slovakia.

Turkey joined the FTTH Ranking in the second half of 2010 and was one of
the most dynamic markets. SuperOnline, a subsidiary of the country’s largest
mobile operator Turkcell, launched FTTH services at the end of 2009, and has
collected around 200,000 subscribers during the first year. The operator aims
to bring 1 million homes within reach of its FTTH network by the end of 2011.

Portugal and Latvia also enhanced their position in the Ranking. The
number of FTTH subscribers in Latvia nearly tripled, thanks to the upgrade
program of incumbent operator Lattelecom, whose network now covers more than
one third of households in the country. In Portugal, three operators are busy
adding FTTH subscribers: the incumbent Portugal Telecom, whose network now
passes 1 million homes, alternative operator Sonaecom and cable company ZON
Multimedia.

Russia remains a specific market. Russia’s huge potential is now
confirmed and the country had the highest growth in absolute numbers, with an
additional 895,000 subscribers in six months.

“Fibre to the home is becoming a truly international phenomenon,”
declared Chris Holden, President of the FTTH Council Europe. “In the second
half of 2010 Turkey became the 18th country to join the FTTH European
Ranking. Emerging markets are very dynamic and often enter the Ranking in
high positions, above the more mature markets of Northern and Western Europe.
It is becoming increasingly obvious that major economies like Germany, Spain
and the UK need to speed up or risk getting left behind.”

Visit http://www.ftthconference.eu for news and updates from the event.

SOURCE FTTH Council Europe