Korea, Iceland, Spain, Finland, and Lithuania lead the OECD with more than 80% of fixed broadband delivered via fiber
In sum – what to know:
Fiber dominates – Fiber penetration across OECD countries surged to 47%, becoming the backbone of digital economies and overtaking legacy DSL and cable connections.
5G reshapes mobile connectivity – 5G now represents 37% of mobile broadband subscriptions, led by strong adoption in Korea, Denmark and Hungary.
Affordability and IoT expansion – Broadband prices fell up to 34% as M2M connections nearly doubled, highlighting a shift toward connected industries and affordable, high-quality networks.
OECD economies have undergone rapid digital transformation between 2019 and 2024, driven by fiber, 5G, fixed wireless access (FWA) and satellite broadband, OECD said in a release.
The entity noted that the COVID-19 pandemic underscored digital connectivity as critical infrastructure, spurring demand for reliable, high-capacity broadband.
Over five years, gigabit broadband offers grew 4.5 times — from 4% in 2019 to 19% in 2024 — while mobile data usage more than doubled to 15 GB per subscription per month, according to the OECD report. Fiber now accounts for 47% of all fixed broadband subscriptions, up from 28% in 2019, and has overtaken legacy copper and cable technologies, it added.
Korea, Iceland, Spain, Finland and Lithuania lead the OECD with more than 80% of fixed broadband delivered via fiber. Meanwhile, 5G adoption continues to accelerate, reaching 37% of all mobile broadband subscriptions, led by Denmark, Hungary and Korea.
The report also noted that broadband services have become more affordable, with mobile prices down 34% and fixed broadband down 20% between 2020 and 2025. While fixed broadband growth has slowed in mature markets, it remains strong in emerging ones such as Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Türkiye, where fiber deployment continues to replace older networks.
Mobile broadband subscriptions have continued to grow steadily across OECD, expanding by 4.6% per year on between 2019 and 2024. Japan and the United States maintained the highest mobile broadband penetration rates, with 210 and 200 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants respectively, followed by Estonia (177), Israel (167) and Finland (157), above the OECD average of 140.
“Fixed Wireless Access and satellite broadband are helping close last-mile connectivity gaps, while M2M connectivity nearly doubled to 642 million active SIMs, powering IoT expansion in transport, energy and manufacturing. The OECD notes that post-pandemic digital transformation is shifting from access to the quality, resilience and affordability of broadband services.
“Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) has become an important driver in narrowing spatial connectivity gaps, providing a versatile and rapidly implementable complementary fixed broadband access technology,” the report stated, adding that the share of FWA subscriptions in total fixed broadband tripled in five years, reaching 6% of total fixed broadband subscriptions within OECD countries at the end of 2024, up from 2% in 2019.
“Satellite broadband is also an essential means of expanding broadband access in remote areas. While it continues to represent a relatively modest segment of the market, accounting for just 1% of fixed broadband subscriptions across OECD countries at the end 2024, the technology has demonstrated consistent momentum, especially with developments in low earth orbit (LEO) constellations and direct-to-device trends,” the report added.
