Synopsis
During the next few years Europe’s telecom networks have will have undergone extraordinary changes as incumbents and new entrants switch on their All-IP Next Generation Networks. Investments in NGNs are aimed at meeting burgeoning consumer demand for high-bandwidth applications, but they have also triggered a number of regulatory changes on both the national and European levels as regulators endeavour to provide fair network access to competitors. These measures have included provisions for the functional separation of incumbent operators. There has also been increased activity in fibre deployments as a result of the falling price of fibre builds and regulatory approval of municipal and government involvement in large infrastructure projects. This report presents statistics and analysis on fibre and NGN developments in Europe in 2009, and assesses the wide-ranging implications for Europe’s telecoms infrastructure as incumbents migrate to IP networks.