Rapid Increase in LTE and Next Gen Broadband Coverage in EU Countries

Between 2013 and 2014, next-generation broadband and LTE coverage made big jumps in coverage availability in EU countries, according to a new study by IHS and commissioned by the European Commission.

Some key findings:

Three million new households gained access to broadband (both mobile and fixed broadband) in the past year, bringing the total to more than 216 million across the EU.
About 15.5 million new households gained access to high-speed next-generation broadband and LTE coverage rose from 59 percent in 2013 to 79 percent in 2014.
LTE coverage recorded the highest growth of all access technologies in rural areas as well, increasing from about 15 percent in 2013 to 27 percent in 2014.
Out of the 31 study countries, 19 countries had fixed broadband coverage levels at or above the EU average of 97 percent at the end of 2014, 27 countries had fixed broadband covering at least 90 percent of their households.
Fixed broadband coverage was highest in Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom and lowest in Poland, Slovakia, Estonia and Romania, where it reached between 85 percent and 89 percent of households.
Malta was the only country to report complete coverage for Next Generation Access (NGA) technologies, followed by Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Denmark, all above 90 percent.
In total, 24 countries performed above the European average (68 percent) with regards to NGA availability, and only three countries reported NGA coverage below 50 percent (France, Greece and Italy).