The UK has still not made the list of top European countries offering optical fibre links to homes. France , Portugal , Czech Republic and Bulgaria have made it ahead of us, according to the latest figures from the European division of the Fibre to the Home (FTTH) Council, an industry support group.

Lithuania has leapfrogged Sweden , Norway and Slovenia to the number one slot, with 18% FTTH penetration. All four countries have penetration rates greater than 10%. France and Portugal broke into the ranking for the first time, following strong deployment of their fibre infrastructure as well as marketing efforts to engage subscribers.

It has been noted that France is the second European G20 country to make the list, Italy being the first. A spokesman for the council said, “ It is up to Germany and the UK to increase their efforts to follow as soon as possible.”

In response, Virgin Media has said that it intends to deliver a commercial service by the end of the year, using cable TV technology to deliver 100Mbps, across its fibre optic network. Virgin Media is also set to demonstrate its upcoming 200Mbps broadband service at the Ideal Home Show running from 20th March to 5th April. The demonstration follows hot on the heels of the expansion of its 200Mbps trial into Coventry ; the service has been operating in Kent since the summer of 2009.

BT has said it will provide fibre to the cabinet, passing about half of UK homes. Other network operators also provide fibre rented from BT, mainly to businesses. Talk Talk said it might build its own fibre network because of congestion in the existing core networks.

If you would like to receive news like this direct to your inbox, subscribe to CSfD's free quarterly newsletter by emailing sales@csfd.co.uk