Cyprus is rapidly becoming a high-speed broadband market, with fibre-optic technology now dominating fixed internet connections and 1Gbps services gaining ground at an accelerating pace. At the same time, competition among telecommunications providers is evolving, with Cyta maintaining its leading position while Epic continues to strengthen its market presence.
Faster connections drive growth
Data for the first half of 2026 suggest that the market continues to grow, although no longer primarily through the addition of new subscribers. Growth is increasingly being driven by existing customers upgrading to faster broadband packages and next-generation networks.
According to the latest market observatory report published by the Office of Electronic Communications Commissioner (OCECPR) in September, fixed broadband subscriptions reached 380,159 by the end of June, an increase of 7,385 subscriptions, or 2%, compared with the same period in 2025.
The relatively modest pace of subscriber growth points to a maturing market, with internet access already widespread across the island. In 2025, an estimated 95.6% of households had internet access, although that figure does not directly correspond to fixed broadband penetration.
Nine in 10 connections exceed 100Mbps
The most significant change is occurring in connection speeds.
During the first half of 2026, 92.5% of fixed broadband subscriptions offered speeds of at least 100Mbps, up from 86.2% a year earlier.
The expansion of 1Gbps connections has been even more striking. Their share rose to 16.1%, compared with 9.8% in 2025 and 3.3% in 2024.
In practical terms, approximately one in six fixed broadband connections in Cyprus now provides speeds of at least 1Gbps.
The growth appears to reflect not only stronger consumer demand but also commercial strategies by telecommunications providers, which increasingly include ultra-fast broadband speeds in bundled and standalone packages.
The trend is also creating infrastructure capable of supporting greater use of bandwidth-intensive applications, including high-definition streaming, cloud services and other advanced digital offerings.
Fibre becomes dominant technology
The shift towards fibre networks is even more pronounced.
Fiber to the Home (FTTH) connections now account for 76.5% of the market, compared with 68.7% a year earlier.
By contrast, legacy copper-based xDSL connections have fallen to 6.6%, down from 12.6% in the first half of 2025.
Cable broadband services account for 16.9% of connections and also recorded a slight decline.
In effect, more than three out of every four fixed broadband connections in Cyprus are now FTTH, highlighting the market's rapid transition to high-capacity fibre infrastructure.
The trend is expected to continue as Cyta completes the rollout of its fibre network during 2026, a project aimed at delivering near-universal coverage across organised communities.
Market shares
In fixed broadband services, Cyta remains comfortably the largest provider, ending June 2026 with a market share of 59.1%, up slightly from 58.8% a year earlier.
Cablenet remained second with 21.6%, although its share edged lower.
The most notable development occurred further down the rankings.
Epic continued to increase its market share, reaching 9.9%, and overtook Primetel for the first time during the first quarter of 2026.
Primetel's share declined to 9.4%.
The market therefore stood at:
- Cyta: 59.1%
- Cablenet: 21.6%
- Epic: 9.9%
- Primetel: 9.4%
Subscription television
Changes were also recorded in the subscription television market.
During the second quarter of 2026, Cyta increased its share to 55.1%, up from 52.9% a year earlier.
Cablenet remained second but fell from 27.6% to 24.3%.
Primetel also recorded a small decline, slipping from 15.1% to 14.3%.
Epic, meanwhile, expanded its market share from 4.4% to 6.3%.
Data consumption keeps rising
The technological upgrade is being accompanied by a steady increase in data usage.
During the first half of 2026, a total of 1,156,842 terabytes (TB) of data were transferred across fixed and mobile networks combined, representing an annual increase of 18.4%.
In the second quarter alone, total traffic reached 588,998TB, up 16.5% year on year.
Despite the rapid expansion of mobile data services, fixed networks continue to carry the overwhelming majority of traffic.
In the second quarter of 2026:
- Fixed networks accounted for 84.52% of total traffic.
- Mobile broadband accounted for 15.48%.
However, the longer-term trend illustrates the growing importance of mobile connectivity.
Mobile networks represented just 4.71% of total data traffic in the first quarter of 2021. By the second quarter of 2026, that share had more than tripled to 15.48%.
The increase reflects growing consumption of mobile data and may have been further supported by the broader availability of unlimited-data plans.
Traditional fixed telephony continues to decline
Unlike broadband, traditional fixed-line telephony continues to contract.
At the end of June, Cyprus recorded 238,167 fixed telephone connections, a decline of 3,779 subscriptions, or 1.6%, compared with a year earlier.
Even within that segment, however, the technology mix is changing rapidly.
Fixed telephony connections delivered through fibre-optic networks increased to 204,130, an annual rise of 4.8%, and now account for 85.7% of all fixed-line subscriptions.
Market rankings in fixed telephony have also shifted.
Cyta remains the leading provider, while Epic has moved into second place. Cablenet has fallen to third position and Primetel now ranks fourth.
