7.4% of Canadian Internet connections are FTTP or similar: OECD

Canada is still at the bottom of the Organization for Co-operation and Economic Development (OECD) countries with fibre connections, but among those making the greatest strides to close the gap. December 2015 numbers released Tuesday show that the percentage of such connections in total broadband subscriptions in Canada grew to 7.4 per cent from 4.7 per cent in the same period a year earlier. The numbers for "fibre" connections are the combined totals for fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP), fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), and fibre-to-the-building (FTTB) connections. The almost 64-per-cent increase puts Canada in seventh place among the 35 OECD countries for growth in fibre, though it still sits at 24th for its actual connections. New Zealand topped the list in fibre growth, jumping more than 132 per cent in such fibre connections over 2014. The OECD said that in December 2015 Canadian mobile broadband penetration remained near the bottom of the pack for another year, with the country in 27th place as subscriptions per 100 inhabitants rose to 61.4, compared to 54 during the same period a year earlier. In a Tuesday press release, the OECD said that as of December 2015, mobile broadband penetration in the area countries had risen to 90.3 per cent, “meaning more than nine high-speed wireless Internet subscriptions for every 10 inhabitants.” This was up from a penetration rate of 81.6 per cent in the same period a year earlier. In June, Canadian Internet Registration Authority president and CEO Byron Holland told an Ottawa forum he was troubled that other countries were moving more quickly than Canada in Internet and broadband networks. “And it’s not that we’ve gone backwards,” Holland said. “Of course we’ve continued to progress, it’s just the challenges is our peers, our competitors around the world are progressing faster.” Nine countries, up from eight a year earlier, are now above the 100-per-cent penetration rate for mobile broadband, with Japan and Finland in the lead with 138.8 per cent and 135.4 per cent penetration, respectively, according to the OECD.

7.4% of Canadian Internet connections are FTTP or similar: OECD

Brief | August 3, 2016

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7.4% of Canadian Internet connections are FTTP or similar: OECD

Brief | August 3, 2016

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