March 6, 2007 -- The number of U.S. households subscribing to FTTX (i.e. fiber connections) will increase from three million in 2007 to 18 million by the end of 2011, according to a new report from the market research and consulting firm Parks Associates.
The firm says that fiber subscriptions will join DSL and cable as mainstream broadband access methods over the next five years, driven by aggressive deployment plans from the telcos and increased consumer demand for new data, voice and video services.
"While fiber is a small percentage of total US broadband household subscriptions today, it will achieve a faster growth rate than what DSL and cable did after their inception," contends Chris Roden, research analyst at Parks Associates. "Companies like Verizon and AT&T are hoping to match and surpass the broadband offerings from the cable MSOs, and their bold plans to upgrade their existing copper networks will drive fiber growth. Increasing consumer demand for bundled services such as video-on-demand and IPTV will also fuel the increase in fiber subscriptions."
The report, "FTTx and BPL: Analysis and Outlook," analyzes the market trends and significant events that will impact FTTX and BPL deployments over the next five years. The report also addresses the consumer and competitive pressures that will influence these methods, the economics associated with the deployment of these technologies, and the opportunities FTTX and BPL provides for vendors and service providers.