Fiber-To-The-Home Subscribers Climb To 1 Million

Two leading telecommunications industry organizations, the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), announced results of a new study showing FTTH deployments pass over six million North American homes, an increase of more than two million homes - over 50 percent - since last March.

The number of North American homes and businesses directly connected via end-to-end fiber now exceeds one million and the growth rate in new subscribers is accelerating - an increase of 50 percent in the last six months.

The new figures, released during the FTTH Council's annual FTTH Conference & Expo, show the most rapid growth of FTTH deployment to date; well over 300,000 additional homes being passed every month. Major FTTH providers, which include municipalities and utilities, real estate developers and operators as well as traditional and non-traditional service providers, are now at full speed in the deployments -- with more FTTH providers coming on line.

"The growth of fiber to the home continues to be dramatic," said Michael Render of RVA Market Research. "Surveys of early fiber-to-the-home users show that they are highly satisfied with FTTH service attributes such as increased Internet speed, on- demand video and HDTV, as well as online gaming. However, there is also increased interest in applications that affect health and education as information becomes available about services and distance learning available through the Internet."

"In 2006, FTTH providers in the United States have moved from pioneer efforts in the United States into the mainstream," said FTTH Council President Joe Savage, "and are confirming that it is a question of when, not if, to deploy FTTH."

TIA President Matthew J. Flanigan noted that next- generation broadband is a matter of international competitiveness for the United States. "America has fallen behind in broadband penetration, reducing our relative efficiency in a number of ways," Flanigan said. "Now a number of network operators are starting to deploy robust technologies like fiber-to- the-home. That is a very positive development because it will allow us to better compete in the international market for converged services."

Both organizations have urged policymakers to reduce barriers to next-generation broadband deployment, such as streamlining video franchise processes and allowing municipalities to build broadband networks.

SOURCE: The Fiber-to-the-Home Council