Denmark on track for 100% fixed broadband coverage

Denmark is close to delivering fixed broadband coverage to 100% of households, according to data and analytics company GlobalData.

This is up from 92% in 2018. Meanwhile, the country’s fixed broadband penetration rate (actual connections) is set to reach 39% by 2024, in line with the National Broadband Strategy.

Sergej Gavrilov, Telecoms Market Data and Intelligence Analyst at GlobalData, said, “Denmark decided to remain technology-neutral in delivering its broadband targets. However, a lot of fixed broadband development revolves around fibre.”
He noted that fixed-broadband lines in the country are expected to reach 2.3 million by 2024 with fibre lines surpassing the one million mark by the end of the forecast period.

Expansion

“To further stimulate the expansion of 100Mbps broadband, the Ministry of Energy, Power and Climate of Denmark established a $15 million fund in May 2019. The fund is mainly aimed at providing 100Mbps broadband to underserved areas with low population density, where connectivity does not exceed 10Mbps down- and 2Mbps uplink,” Gavrilov said.

In November 2019, the COBRA fibre cable interconnecting Endrup (Denmark) and Eemshaven (the Netherlands) was launched. The cable brings additional capacity for commercial purposes. In June 2019, telecom operator TDC announced that its NetCo (network company) is forming a joint venture with Nordkysten, a construction company, to deploy fibre in the Zealand region in the Netherlands.

Several months earlier, Telenor signed a wholesale agreement with OpenNet, the wholesale arm of utility company Eniig, to provide broadband services over OpenNet’s fibre network. The scope of the agreement covers over 300,000 households in Northern and Central Jutland.