Network sharing lets channel providers offer fiber broadband without first building a competing last-mile network. The opportunity is a shift in where a provider must invest: retail entrants may be able to focus on customers and services, while infrastructure owners seek more use of their networks. But “sharing” covers several distinct arrangements, and access terms—not the label—determine who controls the service, what it costs, and whether it can work commercially.
What network sharing changes for the channel
Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) networks are expensive to extend, especially where another operator has already built access infrastructure. Wholesale access and shared-network models can give a retail provider a route to customers without financing a parallel fiber build. Potential channel participants include independent internet service providers, utilities, mobile-only operators, and brands with an existing customer base. These are possible entrants, not evidence that every such organization will launch broadband or succeed.
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For a wholesale network owner, additional retail providers may mean more tenants and greater use of existing infrastructure. For a retail provider, access may expand its footprint and let it concentrate on packaging, sales, support, and customer experience. The FTTH Council Europe identifies reduced infrastructure duplication, provider access without the same upfront access-network investment, and wider service choice as possible open-access benefits. They are not guaranteed savings or outcomes in every market. FTTH Council Europe: publications and resources
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The strategic shift is from competing primarily by owning the last mile to competing through the service sold over it. That can lower an entry barrier, but it does not remove the need to secure commercially workable wholesale terms, operate customer-facing services, and acquire customers profitably.
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“Sharing” can mean different network arrangements
Before assessing an FTTH opportunity, identify which network layer is shared and what the retail provider actually receives. Open access, wholesale FTTP, co-investment, physical sharing, and wavelength access are related, but they are not interchangeable.
| Model | What is shared or supplied | What the retail provider needs to establish |
|---|---|---|
| Wholesale FTTP access | A retail competitor uses another operator’s fiber network under defined wholesale terms. In Canada, the CRTC distinguishes aggregated access, which can use the incumbent’s access and transport infrastructure from a centralized interconnection point, from disaggregated access, which involves more interconnection points and competitor-provided transport. | Eligibility, rates, interconnection locations, transport responsibility, service levels, and the division of operating tasks. CRTC Telecom Regulatory Policy 2024-180 |
| Open access | A shared infrastructure is made available to multiple service providers. The FTTH Council Europe describes this as a way for providers to reach customers without each making the same upfront access-network investment. | Whether providers can access the network on workable, equitable terms and what network or service functions remain their responsibility. FTTH Council Europe Open Access Committee |
| Co-investment | Operators participate in shared network investment or arrangements that provide access to a network. France’s Arcep attributes the country’s broad operator choice in part to multiple co-investment schemes. | How investment, access rights, operating responsibilities, and future upgrades are allocated in the specific arrangement. Arcep, 27 March 2025 |
| PON wavelength sharing | Passive optical network capacity is shared through separate wavelengths. BEREC’s 2017 report describes NG-PON2 using several wavelengths in each direction over the same PON fiber, including co-investment, regulated wavelength unbundling, and commercial wholesale wavelength access examples. | Which wavelengths, equipment, and operating responsibilities are available under the local technical and commercial arrangement. BEREC says its report is descriptive, not a recommendation or best-practice prescription. BEREC report on wavelength unbundling |
| Fixed Access Network Sharing (FANS) | The term is used in the article framing this topic for shared physical access fiber with virtualized, isolated operator slices. | Verify the actual architecture and terms in a particular deployment; the label alone does not establish a standard contract, technical design, or market-wide level of adoption. |
What the market evidence says—and does not say
France illustrates that extensive operator choice can coexist with shared and co-invested fiber infrastructure. Arcep reported that 92% of fiber-passed premises in France had a choice of at least four operators in 2024, up from 83% in 2023. The regulator attributes this to multiple co-investment schemes that provide operators access under equitable terms. This is an indicator of choice in France, not proof that sharing alone caused the result or that the same outcome will occur elsewhere. Arcep also reported 24.4 million FTTH subscriptions at the end of 2024, equal to 75% of total internet subscriptions at that time. Arcep, 27 March 2025
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Across EU39, the FTTH Council Europe’s 2026 Observatory reported 295 million homes passed and 79% coverage as of September 2025, 23 million more homes passed than a year earlier. It counted around 160 million subscribers and a 54% take-up rate across the same EU39 scope. The Observatory also reported about 85 million homes passed but not subscribed in EU27+UK; that figure uses a different geography and should not be treated as an EU39 total. The report describes a maturing rollout, more complex remaining deployments, and an increasing focus on take-up and monetization. FTTH Council Europe, FTTH/B Market Panorama 2026
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These cases show that sharing arrangements can be formalized in different ways and can coexist with provider choice. They do not establish that every entrant will be able to obtain access, that wholesale service will be affordable in every location, or that additional retail competition automatically lowers consumer prices.
Who controls the service, and what must the channel operate?
“Access to fiber” does not necessarily mean full control of the broadband service. Depending on the model, the network owner may supply transport, access equipment, or an active wholesale service, while a retail provider may handle its own transport, service logic, customer support, and some quality-of-service controls. The agreement and the network design establish the boundary; the model’s name is not enough.
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The article introducing the FANS framing describes a multi-tenant operating stack that includes operational support systems (OSS), software-defined networking (SDN)-based management and control, a virtualized broadband network gateway (BNG), and multi-tenant-capable optical line terminals (OLTs). These are the article’s proposed prerequisites for operating at scale, not independently established requirements for every wholesale or open-access network. BEREC’s NG-PON2 examples demonstrate that wavelength-based PON sharing has been analyzed as a technical and regulatory option; they do not establish the prevalence or commercial readiness of the full FANS stack.
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How to assess a real FTTH sharing opportunity
- Identify the shared asset and layer. Establish whether the offer concerns ducts, dark fiber, shared PON infrastructure, wavelengths, or active wholesale FTTP access. Each places different equipment and operating responsibilities on the participants.
- Map retail control and responsibilities. Confirm who supplies transport and access equipment, who provisions and manages service, who handles customer support, and which party controls traffic management and quality of service.
- Read the access terms. Check eligibility, pricing, interconnection locations, service-level commitments, and whether rates or other terms are interim or final. In Canada, for example, aggregated and disaggregated access require different interconnection and transport arrangements.
- Allocate investment and operating risk. Determine who pays for construction, maintenance, operations, and upgrades, and whether the arrangement actually avoids duplicate build costs for the entrant. Then assess whether expected customer acquisition and service costs leave a viable retail business.
- Check the local competitive and regulatory context. Availability, incumbent structure, co-investment rules, wholesale regulation, coverage, and actual provider choice vary by jurisdiction and location. Evidence from France, Canada, Morocco, or a Europe-wide coverage snapshot is not a substitute for local terms.
Wholesale access can enable competition without guaranteeing profitability
The Canadian CRTC’s policy illustrates the balance regulators may seek between wholesale access and network investment. It states: “Wholesale rates will be set to ensure that network operators recover their costs while giving competitors space to compete.” The framework is intended to enable competition at cost-based rates while supporting operator cost recovery; the CRTC also cautions that it does not guarantee any particular competitor can profitably compete without risk. That is why a retail provider must evaluate both access availability and its own cost to serve customers. CRTC Telecom Regulatory Policy 2024-180
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