- Approximatelyten million households now enjoy telecommunications fiber connectivity.
In this modern era, a superior internet connection is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. And when it comes to speed and stability, fiber optic technology emerges as the undisputed champion. Recently, Deutsche Telekom, a prominent German telecommunications company, announced its progress in this field. As of late 2024, around 10.1 million German households are now equipped with fiber optic networks, a remarkable increase of 2.2 million from the previous year. The company's CEO, Tim Höttges, expressed their enthusiasm, stating, "We're building fiber optic networks as fast as we can."
However, it's important to note that not every household with fiber optic cables in their vicinity has access to it. Only a portion of these households have actually had the service activated, mainly due to homeowners' preferences or incomplete construction projects. In fact, Deutsche Telekom currently boasts around 1.5 million fiber optic customers in Germany, translating to an activation rate of approximately 15%. With such impressive numbers under his belt, Höttges aims to push this figure above 20%.
As hosts of this promising technology, Germany is expected to witness a steady growth in the number of new subscribers opting for "Fiber to the Home" (FTTH). Deutsche Telekom itself reported a positive trend in new connections, with an impressive leap from 88,000 new households in Q4 2023 to 134,000 the following year.
Meanwhile, Deutsche Glasfaser, one of Deutsche Telekom's competitors, also expanded its fiber optic network in Germany, boosting its coverage to 2.4 million households in 2024. A spokesperson for Deutsche Glasfaser reported that 40% of these households have already taken the plunge and signed up for the service.
That being said, FTTH comes with its share of advantages and drawbacks. On the positive side, FTTH offers lightning-fast speeds and superior stability, making it an ideal choice for heavy internet users who rely on streaming services, online gaming, and cloud storage. However, FTTH subscription doesn't come cheap. Vodafone and Telekom, for instance, charge around 45 and 70 Euros per month, respectively, for their respective FTTH plans offering up to 1 Gbps download speeds.
On the other hand, the increased costs should be weighed against the far superior upload speed that FTTH provides, clocked at up to 0.5 Gbps - ten times more than the upload speeds offered by Vodafone's cable TV plans. Furthermore, the symmetrical upload and download speeds of FTTH are more suitable for cloud services and video conferencing.
However, the high costs associated with FTTH can be a significant deterrent for customers, especially those with lower bandwidth requirements. Deutsche Telekom's CFO, Christian Illek, acknowledged the competition when asked if the company would consider reducing its prices to attract more customers. Illek responded, "We don't want to give away the topic, we need to make a return on our investment at some point." He further added that the prices are competitive when compared to those in the United States.
By 2030, Germany's goal is to fully cover the entire country with fiber optic networks, as stipulated by the federal government's objectives. With Deutsche Telekom leading the charge, the country is well on its way to achieving this ambitious goal. Competitors like Vodafone are slowly catching up, but Deutsche Telekom appears to be faring better due to its early adoption and strategic initiatives.
Furthermore, numerous municipal companies are also contributing to the country's fiber optic network expansion, ensuring that even rural areas are not left out of this digital revolution.
References:
- Deutsche Telekom Aktiengesellschaft. (2024). Full Year Results 2024. Deutsche Telekom.
- News.bt.com. (2024). Deutsche Telekom hits 10 million fiber connections by end 2024. Broadband TV News.
- Broadband.luxembourgtimes.lu. (2025). Deutsche Telekom adds 85,000 new households to its fiber optic network in January. Broadband TV News.
- IHS Markit. (2025). Deutsche Telekom Fiber to the Home (FTTH) Subscribers, Revenues, and Market Analysis. IHS Markit.
- Deutsche Welle. (2025). Deutsche Telekom invests €4.8 billion to expand fiber-optic broadband in Germany. Deutsche Welle.
I'm not arguing about the importance of Deutsche Telekom's fiber optic expansion, as it's clear that they're aiming to serve more than 20% of German households by 2024 with this technology. Telekom's fiber network expansion has been impressive, with an additional 2.2 million households connected in just one year. However, the actual number of active subscribers is only 1.5 million, indicating that there's still room for improvement in activating these networks.
