Report: Europe’s fibre rollout failing to deliver returns
January 14, 2026
Fibre rollout across Europe is falling short of operators’ financial expectations. Kearney’s latest European Telecom Health Index shows that in slow-adopter markets – Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Ireland and Denmark – returns on capital employed (ROCE) have dropped to 6 per cent, with fibre take-up closer to 45 per cent.
By contrast, high-performing markets such as Sweden, Norway, France, Spain and Portugal are achieving fibre take-up of up to 84 per cent, supporting significantly stronger returns of 11 per cent.
At the same time, Europe faces a €174 billion funding shortfall to meet its 2030 gigabit and 5G targets. Without this step-up in investment, around 45 million Europeans could remain without adequate high-speed connectivity by the end of the decade.
Customer behaviour slows fibre adoption in weak markets
Kearney surveyed 20,000 consumers across 21 European countries and found that demand-side behaviour is the main barrier to fibre monetisation. In the bottom-five markets, including the UK, customers are 7 per cent more likely to switch providers, 10 per cent more likely to demand faster speeds, and 6 per cent more likely to demand better customer service compared with those in stronger markets.
By contrast, the top-five countries – Sweden, Norway, France, Spain and Portugal – record significantly higher sentiment. Customers are 11 per cent more satisfied with their mobile provider, 13 per cent more satisfied with fixed broadband, and 13 per cent more likely to hold multiple mobile subscriptions with the same provider. Stronger customer relationships also deliver better financial outcomes. In top-performing markets, operators see average revenue per user (ARPU) rise by up to 15 per cent, while customer turnover drops by 10-15 per cent.
Smaller markets outperform Europe’s largest economies
Kearney’s Index shows Europe’s healthiest telecom markets are concentrated in the north, with Norway (82), Sweden (81) and Switzerland (76) leading the rankings. These countries combine strong fibre adoption, higher customer satisfaction and stronger commercial outcomes.
At the other end of the scale, the UK sits among Europe’s weakest performers, ranking 18th out of 20 markets. Despite years of rapid fibre rollout, the UK struggles with slow adoption and weaker customer sentiment, reflected in lower bundling levels of just 28 per cent. The UK joins Belgium (58) and Italy (57) in the lowest-performing group – markets where fibre availability is growing, but commercial performance is failing to keep pace.
Christophe Firth, Partner at Kearney, commented: “There’s no shortage of fibre in the ground, but the returns for providers aren’t adding up. In some countries, operators have passed 90 per cent of homes but connected fewer than 40 per cent – that’s a massive commercial gap that needs to be addressed. The challenge now is converting homes passed into paying customers, improving service experiences, and rethinking how operators go to market. Instead of chasing rollout targets, operators need to focus on actually getting more consumers to sign up to the service. That means improving how they cross-sell fixed and mobile, creating bundles that genuinely appeal to households, making digital sign-up simpler, and targeting the right customers with the right offers. The infrastructure is already there, now it’s about turning it into a consistent revenue stream.”
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