Direct Fiber Optic Connections Helping to Drive Solutions to Global Warming

WASHINGTON - As world leaders head to Copenhagen this week for the climate summit, a non-profit association of technology companies and telecommunications service providers says that accelerating direct fiber optic connections to homes and businesses has broad potential for advancing global climate change solutions.

"Now that more than five million homes here in North America are connected directly into fiber networks, we are beginning to see evidence of the tremendous influence that next-generation broadband will have on reducing greenhouse gases and contributing to solutions for global warming," said Joe Savage, President of the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council North America, which promotes the deployment of high-bandwidth, fiber-driven networks.

"By advancing productivity and enabling more work and household activities to take place without the need to travel, fiber to the home broadband has the potential to deliver real reductions in harmful emissions," he said.

A key factor, said Savage, is the impact that fiber to the home service is beginning to have on telecommuting. A recent survey by the Council found that FTTH subscribers work from home an average of two additional days a month more than subscribers to other broadband services - specifically because of their high-speed optical fiber connection. In addition, more than three-quarters of FTTH subscribers who operate a home business said that their enterprise is more efficient or would not be possible without a direct fiber connection.

"What we are seeing is that higher speed, reliable FTTH broadband enables people to stay out of their cars, stay online and be more productive," said Savage. "The ongoing expansion of next-generation, all-fiber networks will lead to more telecommuting, and that will have a major positive impact on energy consumption and transportation infrastructure."

According to another Council-funded study, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the increase in telecommuting from the upgrading America's telecommunications networks to end-to-end fiber will deliver substantial environmental benefits that will outweigh the costs of FTTH deployment in as little as six years.

While that six-year "green positive" factor is enough to drive interest in FTTH on its own, Savage noted that there are other ways that the upgrade to all-fiber networks is contributing to greenhouse gas reductions.

Verizon, which operates the largest FTTH network in the U.S., reports that network power consumption for its growing FiOS all-fiber service amounts to only 38 percent of what is required to run its copper-based DSL service, without requiring increased power consumption at the subscriber premises. Verizon currently spends more than $1 billion a year on energy to power its networks.

Fiber to the home networks also make possible advancements in so-called "smart grid" applications that empower consumers and utility companies to greatly reduce energy use through more efficient power distribution and automated management of home heating and cooling and household appliances.

At an FTTH Council meeting last week in Atlanta, a representative from EPB, a public utility in Chattanooga, said that the company is planning to use the next-generation bandwidth of its new fiber to the home network to offer customers real time access to their energy usage information, as well as dynamic pricing rates and demand side management programs aimed at helping their customers save energy and money.

"We are seeing on many different levels evidence that more bandwidth equals more energy savings," said Savage. "And there's no doubt that fiber to the home, the most reliable and effective technology for delivering on our ever-growing bandwidth needs for many decades to come, is going to be a big part of the march to a clean energy economy."
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. 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