Communications Regulatory Authority

1.9.), the total number of broadband lines reached, at the end of 2005, 57.4 million
(+44.2% in the last year).
Figure 1.9. Western Europe: broadband connections, breakdown by access technology
(millions of lines)
Source: IDC, 2006 | * Forecasts
Other
Cable
DSL
Fibre
In this case, also, the growth was aided, as has been said, by the lowering of the
average connection price thanks to the competition on the market.
In order to counterbalance the constant reduction of the average revenues
deriving from the voice traffic and broadband services, operators are investing in the
supply of value-added services to users. However, these services (fixed-mobile
integration and IPTV) require investments in the network, aiming to guarantee good
service quality. From the standpoint of the incumbent operators, the owners of local
networks distributed throughout the country, the possibility of providing users with
innovative services and the need to optimize the operating and maintenance costs of
their infrastructure are the main factors underlying the decision to make the transition
toward new generation networks based on the use of the Internet protocol. As for the
alternative carriers (OLOs – Other Licensed Operators), the evolution of the competitive
scenario requires the making of infrastructure investments (mainly in unbundling and/or
fibre optics networks), since there is a transition from a competition based on the mere
resale of the incumbent operator’s wholesale services, to one in which it is the OLO that
becomes the sole supplier of communication services and carry on the contractual
relationship with the end user.
Investments in the new generation networks have thus made possible the supply
in Europe of integrated fixed-mobile services by fixed network operators. The first
operator – moreover, not integrated – to offer a product permitting this type of
convergence is British Telecom, which launched the service known as BT Fusion in
mid-2005. It uses a cell phone specially provided by BT which is able to connect, using
21