Sad RTR balance sheet:

Only a fraction of fiber optic connections are used

Theoretically, 1.9 million households in the state would have access to fast fiber optic internet. So far, however, only 17 percent have made the switch.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

Austria has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to broadband connections via fiber optics: Only 317,000 of these connections are currently activated - and thus just under 17 percent of the potential. According to the RTR Internet Monitor, 1.9 million connections could currently be established.

However, there is at least a positive trend: The number of activated connections up to the first quarter has risen by 22 percent within a year.

There is "room for improvement" in demand
"However, demand still leaves a lot of room for improvement," said Klaus Steinmaurer, Managing Director of RTR for Telecommunications and Post. "The alternatives are obviously still good enough for many. But I assume that this will change soon."

This can also be seen in user behavior: In the first quarter of this year, 2,950 petabytes of data volume - ten percent more than a year earlier - were consumed via fixed and mobile networks. The volume transmitted via mobile networks rose by 17% to 1266 petabytes. Data volume via fixed networks rose by just under 7% to 1684 petabytes.

Vienna accounts for 751,000 connections
Around 751,000 of the 1.9 million available connections are in Vienna. Upper Austria already has the capacity for 276,000 connections and Lower Austria for around 266,000 connections. Burgenland has the fewest households and therefore brings up the rear in Austria with 17,500 available connections.

There are currently a large number of mostly smaller providers. With a market share of 30.3%, A1 Telekom Austria is the market leader for fiber optic connections, followed by Energie AG Oberösterreich (6.9%) and Kabelplus (6.8%).