FTTH in US

SEPTEMBER 15, 2010 -- In his semi-annual State of the FTTH Union update, RVA Market Research’s Michael Render told attendees at the FTTH Conference in Las Vegas that 6.45 million households in North America receive services via fiber to the home (FTTH) networks. Render’s research, sponsored by the FTTH Council North America, also shows that FTTH infrastructure passes nearly 20 million North American homes.The 6.45 million connection figure represents a six-month increase of just under 650,000. The number of current homes passed -- 19,966,000 – compares to an estimated 18,250,000 homes last March. All told, FTTH networks pass approximately 17.4% of North American homes and connect to just under 6%. Meanwhile, Verizon’s announcement that it will slow its FTTH deployments has been offset by smaller carriers and municipalities, many of whom will scale their efforts as broadband stimulus money kicks in."All indications are that a large number of small and medium-sized telecoms and other broadband providers -- more than 750 by our count -- have either upgraded to FTTH or are in the process of doing so," said Joe Savage, outgoing president of the FTTH Council. "In addition, our earlier surveys show that the vast majority of the remaining telecoms are seriously considering going all-fiber in the next several years."Michael Render of RVA, who conducted the survey, noted that "the number of homes passed by FTTH networks has expanded by 100 times since the FTTH Council was founded nine years ago, with growth really beginning to accelerate in 2005."