The only other part of the world that built widespread copper telecom networks was Europe. The big telcos in the U.S. are working towards eliminating copper, and the same is happening to different degrees in Europe.

The following chart published recently by the FTTH Council of Europe shows the differing degrees to which countries on the continent have made the transition from copper to fiber.

Eight countries have published formal plans for transitioning away from copper: Sweden, Spain, France, Denmark, Netherlands, Croatia, Hungary, and the UK. Many of the other countries might have more informal plans, but some have no plan.

A few countries have announced goals for finishing the transition from copper: Sweden (2026), Spain (2025), Luxembourg (2030), France (2030), and Finland (2025). Portugal says it’s in the process of completing the closure of copper networks.

What’s startling in looking at the chart is the widely varying priorities for eliminating copper networks. Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Finland are nearly finished the transition while Germany, the Czech Republic, and Greece have barely started the process.

The U.S. would fall in the center of this chart. The Fiber Broadband Association was quoted recently saying that 56.5% of homes have fiber at the end of 2024 – up from 50% at the end of 2023.

A few other countries had a lot of historical copper. Canada had fiber to about 45% of homes at the end of 2023 and has a goal to have fiber everywhere by the end of 2030. At the end of 2023, about 68% of homes in Australia are served by fiber. The Australian government recently announced a $1.9 billion grant program to build more fiber and has the goal of having fiber to everybody by the end of the decade.