16 October 2024
The Algerian Ministry of Post and Telecommunications announced that the number of households connected to fibre optic home (FTTH) has reached 1.5 million, which represents a growth of 2,730% compared to the 53,000 FTTH subscribers recorded in November 2020..jpg?lu=341)
This growth has been facilitated by the FTTH generalization program that the Algerian government is leading in conjunction with Algérie Télécom. Investments have been made in the modernization of the existing copper access network and in the gradual conversion of subscribers from the old xDSL copper network to FTTH technology, as well as in the expansion of the network. Algérie Télécom has launched promotional offers for customers wishing to benefit from high speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second on request.
"Technically, FTTH has unique quality features, improving user experience and meeting user needs. By using optical fibre throughout the entire route, from the optical connection node to subscribers, it provides access to very high-speed Internet. In addition, this technology offers rapid responsiveness while avoiding electromagnetic interference," said the ministry in a statement.
The Algerian government is continuing its strategy of generalizing optical fibre despite the strong penetration of mobile Internet. According to data from the Regulatory Authority for Posts and Electronic Communications (ARPCE), Algeria had 48.85 million mobile Internet subscribers as of March 31, 2024, for a population estimated at 45.6 million by the World Bank. In addition, 44.26 million mobile Internet subscribers use 4G.
FTTH should make it easier for populations to adopt new bandwidth-intensive services such as video on demand, the Internet of Things (IoT), teleworking and IPTV. Groupe Télécom Algérie, the parent company of Algérie Télécom, has anticipated this demand and plans to diversify its activities towards these segments as part of its 2024-2028 strategy. Ultimately, the public company is targeting ‘everything as a service (XaaS).’
Despite this growth, the number of households connected to the internet at home, all technologies combined, stands at 5.8 million, while 7.4 million households were recorded in the country as of March 31. The adoption of FTTH in Algeria is still low. It concerns 20.3% of all households. In addition, only 25.6% of households connected to the Internet are connected by fibre.
