For the first time, fiber optics has surpassed cable as the primary fixed broadband technology in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries.
Founded in 1961, the OECD is an intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries. Its purpose is to stimulate economic progress and world trade. The latest update to the OECD's Broadband Portal shows that in the year ending December 2021, fiber optic subscribers grew by 18.6 percent, surpassing cable subscribers, and now account for 32.4 percent of fixed broadband subscribers, compared to 27 percent for DSL, and declining.
The fastest growth has been in Costa Rica, Israel, Greece and Belgium, all of which have increased their fiber connections by more than 80 percent by 2021. In 13 OECD countries, fiber's share of total broadband now stands at 50 percent or more, with more than 50 percent in Chile, Finland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway and Portugal, and more than 70 percent in Iceland, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain and Sweden.
Fixed broadband subscribers continue to grow in almost all OECD countries, with 3.9% growth in the OECD region in 2021, from 454 million in December 2020 to 472 million, with an OECD average of 34.4 subscribers per 100 inhabitants. Switzerland leads the way with a penetration rate of 48.4 subscriptions per 100 people, followed by France (46%), Norway (45%) and Denmark (45%).
