Activation becomes a management priority
Homes Passed remains important, but take-up, active customers, utilisation, revenue and cash flow increasingly determine whether infrastructure creates value.
Study 2026 · Current
Prüfung oder Krise?
Die C-Level-Perspektive: Was Top-Führungskräfte für die Zukunft des Glasfasermarkts erwarten.
A market moving from build-out to economic maturity.
The study finds a market under real economic pressure, but not one facing technological failure. The success measure is shifting from infrastructure built to infrastructure activated, operated efficiently and converted into sustainable revenue and cash flow.
- executive interviews
- 42
- study questions
- 21
- substantive statements analysed
- 2,665
Interviews were conducted between December 2025 and May 2026. The study is in German.
Authors: Prof. Dr. Sandra Thomas and Sven Merkel.
Research findings
What the study highlighted.
Consolidation is selective
Market consolidation can support professionalisation, but scale alone is not enough. Integration, governance and operating capability determine whether consolidation creates value.
Open Access becomes an operating test
Strategic acceptance is no longer the main question. Systems, interfaces, billing, partner operations and commercial control determine whether Open Access can scale.
Capital discipline matters
Business cases, investment assumptions and capital allocation are being tested more rigorously as funding becomes more selective.
Efficiency moves to the centre
Processes, operating costs, automation, service quality and organisational execution matter as much as continued network expansion.
2027 becomes a leadership question
Commercial, Operations, Finance, IT and Strategy must work end-to-end. Leadership and governance become part of the economic model, not an overlay.
2024 established the baseline. 2026 shows the next phase.
Together, the two studies show the market moving from concerns about consolidation and cost pressure toward a broader test of activation, economics, operating capability and leadership.
Study 2026 · Current
Prüfung oder Krise?
The C-level perspective on what senior leaders expect for the future of the fibre market. Based on 42 executive interviews and 21 questions.
Explore the 2026 study →Study 2024 · Baseline
Glasfasermarkt aktuell im Wandel
Large challenges. Current opportunities. Based on 26 C-level interviews across investors, network construction and operators.
Explore the 2024 study →Start with the challenge