North America reaches 2.91mn FTTH connections, according to study

April 10, 2008 – A new study by the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council has found that there are now 2.91mn homes in North America connected via end-to-end fibre, compared to 1.48mn in April 2007, giving an annual growth rate of 97% as the number of FTTH connections in the region continues to nearly double annually.

The study also found that FTTH networks now pass 11.8mn North American homes, up from 8mn one year previously, and the overall take-up rate has increased for the fourth straight six-month period.  The number of homes receiving video services over an FTTH connection has also risen “sharply” to reach 1.6mn.

“Fibre to the home providers are going full speed ahead in their efforts to deploy advanced fibre networks capable of delivering a new generation of online services,” said Joe Savage, President of the FTTH Council.  “This survey shows that next generation broadband is here and now, and that a growing number of people are deciding they have to have fibre to keep up with the latest Internet and video applications.”

Mr. Savage went on to say that: “While we are pleased with the continued high rate of growth, the FTTH industry will not rest until we deliver direct fibre connections to the other 90mn North American households that still don’t have access to them.”

The study found that Verizon accounts for over 70% of the total FTTH coverage for the region, having invested more than US$ 20bn in deploying its FiOS service.  The study also revealed growth in the number of subscribers reported by other FTTH service providers, including small and medium sized telephone companies, municipal governments, developers of planned residential communities and cable television companies.

Mike Render of market research firm RVA LLC, who authored the study, highlighted that the number of homes receiving a 100 Mbps service has risen to 17,000, compared to 12,000 one year previously: “The 100 Megabit level of service is beyond what most people would need or use today, but it’s interesting to note that some FTTH providers do offer it and that a fairly large number of subscribers have it already.”  The FTTH Council is urging legislators and regulators to adopt a “100 megabit Nation” policy and tackle barriers to achieving this.

For more details on the study please click here