Taken from The Broadband Coverage in Europe 2023 Report - a study prepared for the European Commission DG Communications Networks, Content & Technology
by OMDIA and Point Topic Ltd.
National Coverage By Broadband Technology
Availability of fixed VHCN (FTTP & DOCSIS 3.1) networks in Portugal increased by 1.2 p.p. to reach 94.2% of homes at June 2023, more than 15 p.p. ahead of the EU average. Rural fixed VHCN coverage was also well ahead of the EU average, at 71.4% of households. There have been no deployments of VDSL in Portugal, and cable networks have all been upgraded to support the DOCSIS 3.1 standard – thus the NGA coverage is equal to the fixed VHCN coverage. Overall NGA coverage is slightly ahead of the EU average at national level, but the absence of rural VDSL puts Portugal 5.3 p.p. behind the average for rural NGA coverage. By the end of June 2023, overall fixed broadband coverage reached 97.6% of all Portuguese households and 88.4% of rural households.
In terms of individual technologies, FTTP is the most prevalent, and coverage continues to increase with 92.3% of homes passed as of June 2023, up from 90.8% one year previously. DSL coverage remained flat for the fifth year running, at 85.3%. As discussed previously, Portuguese operators have opted for FTTP deployment, rather than upgrading DSL to VDSL. Cable modem DOCSIS 3.1 coverage grew slightly to reach 57.8% of households, the entirety of the network having been upgraded from DOCSIS 3.0 to DOCSIS 3.1.
Portugal launched 5G in late 2021, among the last countries in Europe to do so. But by June 2023 5G coverage had overtaken the EU average of 89.3%, with near-universal coverage reported (98.1% of households), one and a half years after the 5G commercial launch. Coverage of 5G services using the 3.4–3.8 GHz band was also ahead of the average, at almost two thirds of households (65.2%).
In terms of rural areas, FTTP coverage improved by 3.6 p.p. over the study period, to reach 68.7% of rural Portuguese households, up from 65.1% in mid-2022. But DSL is still the most prevalent rural technology, reaching 70.3% of households (unchanged), while cable modem DOCSIS 3.1 reached over a third of rural homes (35.3%), well ahead of the EU average.
Initial 5G deployments were focussed on urban areas, but rural 5G coverage saw a significant increase in the year to June 2023, reaching 87.5% of rural households as of June 2023, compared with only 20.8% the previous year. Rural 5G coverage in the 3.4–3.8 GHz band was estimated at 13.3%, slightly below the EU average.
Regional coverage by broadband technology
In this iteration of the study, nine of Portugal’s 25 regions achieved fixed VHCN (FTTP & DOCSIS 3.1) coverage greater than 95%: the two largest cities (Lisbon and Porto), Cávado, Ave, Oeste, Região de Aveiro, Região de Coimbra, and the two autonomous regions of Madeira and the Azores. As last year. only two regions failed to reach 65% coverage – Terras de Trás-os-Montes, and Baixo Alentejo.
For FTTP alone the picture was very similar, with only Porto and Ave dropping below the 95% threshold.
In rural areas, two regions achieved 100% fixed VHCN (FTTP & DOCSIS 3.1) coverage – Oeste, and the autonomous region of Madeira – while Porto surpassed 95%. Only Tâmega e Sousa, in the north of the country, failed to achieve 35% rural coverage.
The following broadband coverage levels were recorded in Portuguese regions outside mainland Europe:
Data tables for Portugal
Note: The 2023 figures represent the state of broadband coverage at the end of June 2023. The 2022 (end of June) and 2021 (end of June) figures are drawn from the previous studies conducted by IHS Markit, Omdia, and Point Topic.
All restatements are highlighted in italics.
Taken from The Broadband Coverage in Europe 2023 Report - a study prepared for the European Commission DG Communications Networks, Content & Technology
by OMDIA and Point Topic Ltd.
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