Survey: Hundreds of Local Telecoms Already Upgrading to Gigabit-Enabled Fiber Networks
More than Three-Quarters of Local Phone Companies Say They Will Likely Upgrade to FTTH
WASHINGTON - Hundreds of small independent telecoms, broadband service providers, municipalities and cable television companies have brought gigabit-enabled, all-fiber service to a total of more than 1.4 million North American homes - about a quarter of all fiber to the home connections on the continent - according to a report released today by the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council.
The study, conducted by RVA Market Research, found that all-fiber networks are now available to 16 percent of homes in North America, with 5.8 million homes now receiving television, high-speed internet and/or phone service over these networks.
While a large portion of the FTTH deployment thus far has been due to Verizon's $23 billion dollar investment in overbuilding its wireline service in many areas, the report noted that fiber to the home is now being deployed by more than 750 service providers across North America, with most of those being small, independent telephone companies that are replacing their copper lines with end-to-end fiber in order to ensure their future competitiveness as broadband providers.
Further, the study found that more than 65 percent of small independent telephone companies that have not upgraded to FTTH said they would very likely do so in the future, with another 11 percent saying they were somewhat likely. More than 85 percent of those that have already deployed FTTH said they would be adding more direct fiber connections going forward.
"With Verizon approaching the end of its initial FiOS expansion, we are seeing a lot of small local exchange carriers in the U.S. who are ready to pick up the slack, along with some cable TV companies deploying RFoG and some larger Canadian companies going FTTH," said Joe Savage, President of the FTTH Council, non-profit organization of more than 200 companies and organizations dedicated to expanding the deployment of all-fiber, next-generation networks.
"To continue to meet the rapidly growing bandwidth requirements for emerging applications and services, these companies know that they have to 'future-proof' their networks by running fiber all the way to the premises - and that's why we are seeing all this activity," he added
Savage said he is delighted that Google's plan to build gigabit FTTH networks in several cities has raised awareness of how many communities want to superfast connections. "But our survey results show that many communities aren't waiting and are instead taking matters into their own hands, sometimes through their local telephone or cable companies, and in some cases by operating their own FTTH network as a public utility," he said.
Mike Render, president of RVA LLC and the author of the study, said there are a number of reasons independent telecoms are flocking to FTTH, including the need to replace aging copper lines, the opportunity to include video in their service offerings, and in some cases the availability of rural broadband loan programs and stimulus funds.
"A common element of these small ILEC's and the municipal FTTH systems is that when they roll out their all-fiber service they get remarkably great take-rates, averaging above 50 percent," said Render, referring to the percentage of households that subscribe to the new service after receiving information about it. "In many cases, these small telephone companies are longtime family-owned businesses that are deeply involved in local affairs and are responsive to their community needs for faster broadband as a key to future economic development."
"That's why so many of these companies are looking to get into FTTH or expand their deployments," he said.
About the Fiber-to-the-Home Council
Now in its ninth year, the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council is a non-profit association consisting of companies and organizations that deliver video, Internet and/or voice services over high-bandwidth, next-generation, direct fiber optic connections - as well as those involved in planning and building FTTH networks. The Council works to create a cohesive group to share knowledge and build industry consensus on key issues surrounding fiber to the home. Its mission is to educate the public and government officials about FTTH solutions and to promote and accelerate deployment of fiber to the home and the resulting quality of life enhancements such networks make possible. The Council organizes North America's largest annual FTTH event, the FTTH Conference & Expo, to be held September 12 - 16, 2010 in Las Vegas. More information about the Council can be found at www.ftthcouncil.org.
Media Contact:
David St. John
Media Relations
FTTH Council
315.849.3800
media@ftthcouncil.org