As at the end of 2023, there were 3.7 million residential customers with high-speed services at a fixed location, 4.2% more than in the previous year (+6.5% in 2022). The take-up rate among households was 88.3%1. Around nine out of every ten new high-speed network customers contracted a service supported over optical fibre networks (FTTH).
The Lisbon Metropolitan Area (99.9%), the Autonomous Region of the Azores (98.0%), Algarve (95.8%) and the Autonomous Region of Madeira (95.7%) reported penetration rates which were above the national average. The Algarve region stood out with the highest rate of growth in the number of residential customers with high-speed networks (+7.9%).
In terms of access speeds, at the end of 2023, 89.0% of fixed broadband accesses in Portugal were ultrafast (i.e., download speeds2 equal to or greater than 100 Mbps), increasing by 2.8 percentage points from the previous year.
Broadband accesses with download speeds between 100 Mbps and 400 Mbps represented 41.0% of ultrafast broadband accesses (-7.5 percentage points versus the previous year), 38.2% had speeds between 400 Mbps and 1 Gbps (+4.5 percentage points) and 11.3% of accesses had speeds equal to or greater than 1 Gbps (+4.5 percentage points) .
According to the European Commission, the proportion of accesses with download speeds equal to or greater than 100 Mbps in Portugal (87.4%) was the fourth highest in the European Union.
In terms of coverages, it is estimated that at least around 6.1 million dwellings were connected to high-speed networks, representing 94.4% of dwellings and establishments in Portugal. Compared to the previous year, there was an increase of 0.5% in connected dwellings, a slower rate of growth than reported in 2022 (+2.1%).
By region, coverage rates in the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon, the Autonomous Region of Madeira and the Autonomous Region of the Azores were above the national average. Meanwhile, growth in the number of connected dwellings was notable in the Centre (+1.0%) and Alentejo (+0.5%) regions, where high-speed network coverage levels approached the national average, resulting in strengthened territorial cohesion.
It is estimated that around 71.1% of connected dwellings and establishments made actual use of services provided to residential and non-residential customers.
In terms of technology, around 6.0 million dwellings were connected to optical fibre (FTTH – Fibre to the Home), resulting in a coverage level of 92.8%. Compared to 2022, the number of accesses increased by 0.9%, a smaller increase than 2022 (+2.5%).
The proportion of dwellings and establishments connected to FTTH with actual use was 51.0% at the end of 2023. The Autonomous Region of the Azores, the North, Alentejo and Metropolitan Region of Lisbon had FTTH take-up rates that were higher than the national average. This rate was only lower than 42% in the Autonomous Region of Madeira. As such, inter-regional asymmetries have been dissipating.
The number of dwellings connected to high-speed access supported by cable TV networks (HFC - Hybrid Fibre Coaxial) remained in line with 2022, with a total of 3.7 million connected dwellings. Coverage by this type of networks was 57.8% at the end of 2023.
Consult the statistical report:
- High-speed networks and services at a fixed location - 2023 https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1775835
