In 2023, the penetration rate of fixed broadband among residential customers was 94 per 100 households (an increase of 2.3 percentage points from the previous year).
The number of fixed broadband accesses in Portugal increased by 128 thousand accesses (+2.9%) compared to the previous year, totalling 4.6 million accesses.
Optical fibre (FTTH) was the main form of fixed broadband Internet access, making up 66.2% of total accesses, an increase of 2.6 percentage points compared to 2022. FTTH was also responsible for the reported increase in the number of accesses. Over the last 12 months, the number of accesses supported by optical fibre increased by 203 thousand accesses (+7.1%).
The number of accesses supported over cable modem networks decreased by 1.4%, representing 25.5% of the total (-1.1 percentage points versus 12 months ago). The number of fixed accesses supported over mobile networks decreased by 4% and made up 5.2% of total accesses (-0.4 percentage points). The number of ADSL accesses remained in a downward trend, decreasing by 28.3%, as these accesses continue to be replaced by next generation accesses. ADSL represented 2.8% of total accesses (-1.2 percentage points).
In terms of access speed, at the end of 2023, 90.4% of fixed broadband accesses provided ultrafast broadband (i.e., download speeds1 greater than or equal to 100 Mbps), an increase of 1.5 percentage points from the previous year.
According to the most recent available European data from July 2022, Portugal had the fourth highest proportion of accesses at download speeds equal to or greater than 100 Mbps in the European Union.
The increase in the proportion of ultra-fast broadband accesses occurred alongside the development of optical fibre networks (FTTH) and the introduction of DOCSIS 3.x in cable TV networks. These two types of networks were responsible for 71% and 28% of accesses with at least 100 Mbps, respectively.
In 2023, total fixed broadband Internet traffic increased by 17.7% compared to the previous year. Average monthly traffic per access was around 285 GB, 13.9% more than in 2022. Successive historical highs have been attained, in terms of both total traffic and average monthly traffic per access.
In the fixed broadband Internet access service markets, there are four providers reporting a relevant share of subscribers: MEO (41.1%), Grupo NOS (33.7%), Vodafone (22%) and NOWO (2.7%). Compared to 2022, Vodafone and MEO have increased their share of subscribers by 0.3 percentage points and 0.2 percentage points, respectively. Meanwhile, Grupo NOS and NOWO saw their share of subscribers decrease by 0.3 percentage points and 0.2 percentage points, respectively. MEO was the provider that acquired the most customers in net terms.
Considering residential accesses, MEO had the highest share of subscribers (39.4%), followed by Grupo NOS (35.9%), Vodafone (21.1%), and NOWO (3.1%). Compared to 2022, Vodafone and MEO saw their share of subscribers increase by 0.3 percentage points and 0.1 percentage points, respectively, while Grupo NOS and NOWO each saw their share decrease, by 0.4 percentage points and 0.2 percentage points, respectively.
With regard to fixed broadband traffic, MEO reported a share of 42.6% in 2023, followed by Grupo NOS with 30.1% and Vodafone with 23.7%. NOWO's share was 1.6%. Compared to 2022, MEO's share of traffic increased (+1.2 percentage points), while the share of traffic reported by Vodafone, Grupo NOS, and NOWO decreased by 0.9 percentage points, 0.3 percentage points and 0.2 percentage points, respectively.
Consult the statistical report:
- Internet access service at a fixed location in 2023 https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1775297
