Broadband News 15 March 2025

Mauritius Online: How a Paradise Island is Beaming Broadband (Even from Space)

As of early 2025, about 1.01 million Mauritians used the internet, representing roughly 79.5% of the population. By 2024 Mauritius had over 2.2 million internet subscriptions, about 178 per 100 inhabitants, indicating many people hold multiple connections. Mauritius completed 100% fiber‑to‑the‑home coverage in 2017, with 100% of households passed by fiber and fixed broadband speeds around 55 Mbps on average. The island is connected by five major undersea cables—SAFE, LION/LION2, METISS, MARS, and T3—with capacities including ~800 Gbps on SAFE, ~1.28 Tbps on LION, 24 Tbps on METISS, 8 Tbps on MARS, and 18 Tbps (upgradable to 54 Tbps) on

22 June 2025

Ireland’s Internet Revolution: From Rural Blackspots to Blazing Broadband in 2025

As of early 2025, about 98–99% of Ireland’s population is online and roughly 94% of households have internet access. In 2025 the median fixed broadband speed was about 146 Mbps, with the 2024 average around 103 Mbps and Ireland ranking around 40th globally. Gigabit-capable broadband is available to about 86% of premises nationwide in 2025, and pure fiber FTTP coverage is roughly 76% of premises as of Q1 2025. Two-thirds of rural homes and businesses can access high-speed internet thanks to fiber rollouts between 2023 and 2025. Starlink entered Ireland in 2021 and by 2025 is widely used in rural

18 June 2025

Broadband · Internet · Ireland · NASDAQ:LBTYA · NASDAQ:VOD · Rural Development · Technology

Insane Internet Speeds: The Fastest Connections on Earth and What’s Coming Next

In June 2024, a team led by Japan’s NICT and Aston University achieved 402 Tbps over a single standard optical fiber using six wavelength bands (O, E, S, C, L, and U). In March 2024, the same international team reached 301 Tbps by extending into E-band and S-band with a custom amplifier for those bands. In July 2021, NICT researchers transmitted 319 Tbps over 3,001 km using a 4-core optical fiber with 552 channels across a 120 nm spectrum. In August 2020, University College London set a then-record of 178 Tbps using geometric shaping constellations. In April 2025, NICT with

17 June 2025

Broadband · Connectivity · Future Trends · Internet · NYSE:T · Technology

Fiber vs 5G vs Starlink: The Shocking Truth About Internet Speeds, Latency and Costs Worldwide

Fiber-optic broadband delivers 100–1000+ Mbps download and upload with latency around 5–20 ms, but availability is limited to about 25–40% of U.S. households and roughly 70% of OECD regions. Cable broadband offers 25–500 Mbps down and 5–50 Mbps up with 15–30 ms latency, is widespread in cities, and can reach up to 1 Gbps downstream with DOCSIS 3.1, while DOCSIS 4.0 targets up to 10 Gbps down. DSL provides 1–35 Mbps down and 1–10 Mbps up with latency around 20–50 ms, is nearly universal where phone lines exist, and remains the lowest-cost broadband option. Fixed Wireless Access typically delivers 10–100

16 June 2025

5G · Broadband · Internet · NASDAQ:META · Starlink · Technology

Broadband Blackouts & Starlink Smugglers: Inside Venezuela’s Fight for Internet Access

CANTV, the state-owned fixed broadband incumbent, dominated traditional internet with about 56% market share as of late 2022, while its aging ADSL copper network remained slow and repair backlogs persisted. From August 2020 to August 2023, Venezuela jumped 50 places in Speedtest’s global broadband index, rising from an average 6.15 Mbps to 29.5 Mbps. By mid-2024, Speedtest reported a median fixed broadband speed of about 54 Mbps, placing Venezuela roughly 119th in the world. Movistar, Movilnet, and Digitel controlled about 50%, 26%, and 23–24% of Venezuela’s mobile market respectively in 2022–2023. About 60% of Venezuelan mobile users had 4G LTE

14 June 2025

Broadband · Digital Divide · Internet Access · NASDAQ:SATS · NYSE:TEF · Starlink · Venezuela

Inside Cyprus’s Digital Lifeline: Internet Access on the Island and Beyond the Clouds

Cablenet’s hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) network passes around 80% of premises in Cyprus. Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) rollouts are underway with a target to reach 200,000 gigabit-capable premises nationwide. Cyprus’s four mobile network operators are Cyta (Cytamobile-Vodafone), Epic, PrimeTel, and Cablenet. By end-2022 Cyprus achieved 100% 5G coverage in populated areas, with Cyta claiming full-population 5G coverage. Starlink began regulatory clearance in Q3 2023 and is now available in Cyprus with download speeds over 100 Mbps and latency of 30–50 ms. As of 2024, Starlink hardware kit costs roughly €175 and monthly service about €50. FTTP coverage now reaches 77% of homes nationwide,

9 June 2025

Broadband · Cyprus · Digital Connectivity · Internet Access · NYSE:VOD · Satellite Technology

Battle for the Final Frontier: Starlink vs OneWeb vs Kuiper vs Telesat Lightspeed

Starlink has launched over 8,000 satellites since 2019, serves 125 countries, and by April 2025 reached the 250th dedicated Starlink launch, establishing SpaceX’s network as the largest in orbit. OneWeb, founded in 2014, began Gen1 launches in 2019 with 618 of 648 satellites deployed by March 2023, filed for Chapter 11 in 2020, was rescued by a UK/India $1 billion bailout, and merged with Eutelsat in September 2023. Project Kuiper, unveiled in 2019, has FCC approval for 3,236 satellites, started production with 27 satellites launched in April 2025 on an Atlas V, uses three shells at 590–630 km with inclinations

3 June 2025

Broadband · NASDAQ:AMZN · OneWeb · Satellite Internet · Space Technology · Starlink

Belgium’s Broadband Boom: The Surprising Truth About Internet Access in 2025

As of early 2025, fiber coverage reached about 43% of Belgian homes, with Proximus aiming for 50% by end-2025, 70% by 2028, and 95% by 2032. Proximus FTTH/B offers symmetric speeds up to 8.5 Gbps in some areas as part of its fibre expansion. Proximus formed joint ventures Fiberklaar (Flanders) and Unifiber (Wallonia) to accelerate FTTH rollout, targeting 1.5 million and 0.6 million connections respectively by 2028. Cable broadband uses DOCSIS 3.1, with about 95.6% of households passed and 95.4% already on DOCSIS 3.1 gigabit networks, and Telenet offering up to 1 Gbps down. 5G rollout had 75% population coverage

1 June 2025

2025 · Belgium · Broadband · Internet · NYSE:ORAN · Technology

Internet Access in The Bahamas

As of January 2024, 390,800 Bahamians were internet users, representing about 94.4% of the population. Fixed broadband adoption is only about 24% nationwide, with many Bahamians relying on mobile data for online access. The Bahamas spans roughly 700 islands with about 30 inhabited, creating significant challenges for universal fixed-network coverage. Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) offers fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) with speeds up to 1 Gbps, including mid-tier plans around 150–350 Mbps priced from roughly $70–$85 per month. Cable Bahamas (REV) provides fiber/broadband via a hybrid network, with ALIV Fibr delivering fiber speeds up to 1 Gbps in select areas and standalone 100

31 May 2025

Broadband · Connectivity · Digital Development · Internet Access · NYSE:REV · The Bahamas

Blazing Broadband in Paradise: Inside Antigua & Barbuda’s Internet Revolution

Antigua and Barbuda has a population just under 95,000 and about 91% of Antiguans were online by early 2024. The fiber-to-the-home rollout was completed in 2022, with APUA’s fiber network delivering up to 500 Mbps and basic fiber prices cut from XCD 335 for 20 Mbps DSL to under XCD 100. The market is dominated by three ISPs—APUA Inet, Digicel, and Flow—with APUA controlling about 64% of broadband connections. As of mid-2024, commercial 5G had not launched, but 4G remains strong and networks are being upgraded across the islands. Starlink was slated to roll out by end of 2024 and

30 May 2025

Antigua & Barbuda · Broadband · Connectivity · Digital Revolution · Internet Access · NASDAQ:LILA

Internet Access in Niger: Broadband, Mobile, and Satellite Overview

As of early 2025, about 6.37 million people in Niger were online, representing 23.2% of the population, up from 4.7 million (16.9% penetration) in January 2024. Fixed broadband is negligible outside Niamey; fiber/DSL is available only in the capital and a few major towns, with most users relying on mobile. There were about 16.5 million cellular mobile connections in early 2025, equal to 60.1% of the population, though many subscriptions are basic 2G without data. Mobile coverage spans roughly one-third of Niger’s land area, yet up to 87% of the population can receive at least a basic mobile signal where

17 March 2025

Broadband · Internet Access · Mobile Networks · Niger · Satellite

Internet Access in Australia: A Comprehensive Overview

As of mid-2023, around 12.3 million premises were ready to connect to the NBN, and by early 2025 about 8.62 million homes and businesses were actively connected to NBN-based plans. The NBN uses a multi-technology mix—FTTP, FTTN, FTTC, HFC, Fixed Wireless, and Satellite—and is legally required to offer at least 25 Mbps download speeds to all premises nationwide. NBN fixed-line speed tiers include 25 Mbps, 50 Mbps, and 100 Mbps, with higher options up to about 1 Gbps on capable FTTP and HFC connections, and in 2023 these services delivered 98.5% of advertised download speeds during peak hours. Reliability varies

15 March 2025

Australia · Broadband · Connectivity · Internet Access · Technology

Broadband News 15 March 2025 - 22 June 2025