Germany fixed broadband lines, fibre to the home/building
Germany fixed broadband lines, fibre to the home/building stood at 6.4 million lines in 2025, according to Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur). It is one of the indicators in the Telecommunications market table (Value · Annual), with a complete series running from 2013 to 2025. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Telecommunications market table
| Indicator | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total active broadband lines | 38.8 | 38.6 | 38.4 | 37.5 | 36.9 | 36.2 | 35.2 | 34.2 | 33.2 | 32 | |
| Fibre to the home/building | 6.4 | 5.3 | 4.3 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 2 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.6 | |
| Fixed wireless via LTE/5G | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Understanding germany fixed broadband lines, fibre to the home/building
Optical fibre internet subscriptions terminating directly within private residences or at shared multi-tenant building demarcations are combined within this category. Inclusion requires an active, revenue-generating commercial contract where optical glass strands carry transmission all the way to the premise or into the internal basement distribution terminal. Intermediate fibre configurations that terminate at street cabinets before running over legacy copper or coaxial paths are omitted. This row differs from neighbouring medium-specific categories by tracking optical termination points, serving as the joint parent aggregate for the granular home and building sub-series detailed in specialized fibre tables.
Evaluating twelve-month intervals provides the proper perspective on structural modernization, as year-end data points bypass short-term quarterly fluctuations. Discontinuities in long-term series can emerge when operators refine reporting protocols to separate in-building copper distribution from direct in-home glass drops. A recurring analytic mistake involves equating active fibre lines with infrastructure deployment milestones; a substantial difference exists between premises with completed optical cabling and premises where occupants have entered paying subscriptions. Evaluating market transition requires viewing this series in conjunction with legacy medium totals rather than treating every addition as an entirely new broadband customer.
Frequently asked questions
- Does this series include neighbourhood roadside cabinet fibre deployments?
- Deployments where optical fibre reaches only the street cabinet before using copper lines to enter premises are excluded from this measure.
- What separates this row from its detailed sub-categories in the table?
- This entry aggregates both private residence fibre terminations and multi-unit basement installations into a single total.
- Does an installed fibre wall outlet count toward this total if the property is vacant?
- The measure tallies only activated lines linked to paying subscriptions, excluding idle optical physical infrastructure.