Category : News

Fiber-optic broadband access networks showed a strong growth in subscribers served last year, according to the Broadband Forum and market research firm Point Topic. Fiber to the node/cabinet (FTTN/FTTC, which Broadband Forum denotes as FTTx) using VDSL or VDSL2 saw the largest growth in subscribers among the broadband access technologies tracked, with fiber to the home (FTTH) right behind.

Overall, the number of broadband subscribers grew 8.6% in 2012 to reach 643,770,042. FTTx subscriber numbers jumped 27.5% for the year, to 114,440,536. FTTH subscribers reached 19,308,751, a 20.3% increase.

However, both fiber-based access technologies trail legacy DSL and cable modem for the top spots. DSL networks served 366.7 million subscribers (up 3.6%) and cable modem infrastructure served 123.6 million (up 7.2%) worldwide. Combined, however, fiber access now sits at Number 2.

Fixed wireless, including satellite, supported 10,811,152 at year’s end, an increase of 12%.

“Demand for bandwidth can be satisfied by FTTx solutions, particularly in combination with vectoring, bonding, and other incremental VDSL2 improvements so operators will continue to maximize the lifetime of their existing assets,” said Oliver Johnson, CEO of Point Topic.

Looking regionally, China remained the largest consumer of broadband, with subscriber numbers growing 15% year over year. However, Brazil (17.96%), India (14.1%), and Russia (12.81%) saw significant jumps in broadband subscriber numbers.

In the U.S., which is the second largest broadband market behind China, subscriber totals grew 3.89% to 95,196,150.

“These are promising figures as they highlight the ongoing strength of the broadband market,” commented Robin Mersh, CEO of the Broadband Forum. “We are increasingly witnessing a shift in technology, particularly to fiber, as consumer habits evolve and the demand for higher bandwidths increases.”

Sony-backed Japanese ISP So-net has launched what it is billing as the world’s fastest consumer broadband service, offering downlink speeds of a blazing 2Gbps.

The GPON fiber network also offers uplink speeds of 1Gbps, Engadget reported. So-net is around 58% owned by Sony.

The max speed is double the 1Gbps Google is offering with its high-profile Google Fiber trial network in Kansas City, and at a lower cost: So-net is offering the service for 4,980 yen ($51) per month on a two-year contract, compared to the $70 per month for Google’s fiber-only package.

So-net is charging an installation fee of 52,500 yen, but is currently waving this cost for customers applying for the service online.

The service is currently available in Tokyo and six surrounding districts – Chiba, Gunma, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Kanagawa and Saitama.

The service is so fast it exceeds the capacity of most consumer broadband adapters, but will be useful for multiple high-speed connections.

Japan is well known for being among the countries with the fastest average broadband speeds in the world.

The European Commission has proposed that all new buildings constructed in the EU must be ready for high-speed fibre broadband.

In a draft proposal published today, the Commission suggested that both newly-constructed buildings and those undergoing major renovation would be equipped with “high-speed-ready in-building physical infrastructure”.

The regulations would oblige builders “to provide new multi-dwelling buildings, as well as old ones that undergo extensive renovation, with a concentration point located in or outside the building”.

In addition, the rulings would make it more affordable for telecommunications companies to gain access to infrastructure, with access to ducts to be provided “on fair and reasonable terms”, a move designed to increase competition among service providers.

The EU also wants to see better cooperation between utility providers when upgrading infrastructure, and a simplified planning process for the installation of masts and antennae.

The EU has lofty goals when it comes to internet speed throughout Europe; it expects 100% of EU residents to have access to a 30Mbits/sec connection by 2020, with at least 50% of those boasting 100Mbits/sec speeds.

Earlier this month, Ofcom released its first scorecard to compare how the UK was doing versus the rest of Europe, without revealing how the UK fared in terms of speed.

The regulator also has ambitions to have “the best broadband in Europe” by 2015, and has already outlined its own suggestions that all new-builds get access to fibre broadband.

France Telecom-Orange and SFR have signed a fibre rollout plan with central government and the Ile-de-France region setting the level of private investment in the network. The agreement targets 100 percent residential and business FttH access by 2020 for the Ile-de-France region, which comprises the city of Paris and its surrounding suburbs.

While the operators have already started rolling out FTTH in Paris, the latest agreement focuses on ensuring coverage for less dense areas in the region. The carriers’ network investments in very densely populated areas are intended to bring FttH to 4.7 million homes, or 89 percent of households in the region. France Telecom and SFR will respectively roll out fibre in 198 and 122 towns not classified as being very densely populated.

In the remaining 862 municipalities where the operators will not make direct investment, publicly-owned FTTH networks will be paid for by the towns, counties, region and central government through the region’s EUR 150 million Fibre Plan.

The carriers’ specific investment commitments were not disclosed. The regional agreement opens the way for the carriers to accelerate the signing of fibre projects with individual counties. The first such agreement was already signed 28 March between Orange and Val d’Oise county.

While Verizon has long touted operational expenditure (opex) savings as a rationale for its FiOS fiber to the home (FTTH) deployments, smaller carriers also have seen similar benefits, according to a recent study by RVA LLC for the Fiber to the Home Council Americas. Small and medium-sized carriers in North America say they’ve seen an average opex savings of 20.4% annually, the study reports.

The study included input from more than 350 fiber-optic network service providers across North America. The council released the study’s results as it offered its semi-annual report on FTTH installations in North America.

“This latest survey shows not only the continued build-out of high-bandwidth fiber to the home networks in North America, but also provides one reason why hundreds of small and medium sized telcos have been upgrading to fiber — it saves them real money in the long run,” said Heather Burnett Gold, the FTTH Council’s president.

The opex savings likely is one reason that FTTH infrastructure continues to roll out across the continent. RVA and the council report that, as of the end of March, the number of North American homes with access to services from FTTH networks has grown 17.6%, to 22.7 million, versus the same time last year. Greenfield deployments have picked up by about 20% this year as well, the council and RVA reveal.

Meanwhile, North America’s FTTH subscriber count has grown 20% year-on-year to reach 9.7 million. While Verizon and Canada’s Bell Aliant are the two largest FTTH players, the council says it has identified almost 600 small and medium-sized telephone companies and nearly 100 municipalities that use FTTH to some degree.

Growth in FTTH deployments and subscribers is particularly strong in Canada. Approximately 540,000 Canadians receive services via FTTH, according to the new figures. RVA estimates that 8.8 million homes in the United States are connected to FTTH networks, while about 310,000 customers in Mexico and 30,000 subscribers in the Caribbean receive services from fiber-optic networks.

Take rates also are growing. In the United States, FTTH take rates have reached 44.8%, a record according to RVA.

“While it is clear from our survey that many prospective FTTH providers continue to face funding difficulties and regulatory uncertainty, many are still finding ways to upgrade to all-fiber because doing so reduces their maintenance costs and strengthens their opportunities to expand their subscriber base and offer customers more services,” said Michael Render, president of RVA.

Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) is teaming with New York City to test a way to more quickly deploy fiber in the city. According to Bloomberg, this pilot program will use a technique called “micro-trenching” that will allow Verizon to carve shallow grooves in the ground to deploy fiber. The trial will start in 12 sites across five boroughs and then the company and the government will decide whether to expand the program.

Verizon is hoping to gain an advantage over its competitors such as RCN or Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) by being able to sell faster speed Internet services and television service in more parts of the city. However, the micro-trenching will provide a large enough groove in the ground for other providers besides Verizon to also deploy their cables. New York City officials have said that the program is open to other providers that want to participate.

The news is not particularly surpising considering Verizon announced last year that the focus for FiOS will be on increasing the penetration in existing markets and migrating problem copper-based customers to fiber, rather than expanding its FiOS footprint.

Verizon’s copper-to-fiber migration program is particularly critical in New York City, where much of the company’s copper facilities were damaged beyond repair during Hurricane Sandy.

Micro-trenching is taking hold with other providers as well. TeliaSonera began testing the process in 2011 via its subsidiary, Skanova, outside Stockholm. And Clearfield has used the method to install its FieldShield pushable fiber product to at least one customer’s tower in the Midwest.

“Another area was we were able to install was in streets of Chicago,” Cheri Beranek, president and CEO of Clearfield, told FierceTelecom in a recent interview. “A deployment (was needed) for that tower that wouldn’t disrupt traffic…. We took micro-trenching technology, (made) a simple saw cut in the sidewalk, laid 10 mm microduct through the trench, and delivered service in a couple hours…. We never even closed traffic.”

BT is launching a major new recruitment drive as its £2.5 billion investment in fiber-optic broadband starts to accelerate. More than 1000 engineering jobs are being created at the company’s Openreach business, with most of the new recruits set to install broadband in customers’ homes. The new jobs are in addition to the 1500 extra engineers recruited during the past year.

Following this recruitment, there will be more than 6000 people working on what BT claims is the fastest fiber-optic broadband roll out in the world. BT says its fiber-optic broadband network is the largest in the UK, passing more than 13 million premises, and the technology is being made available to an additional 100,000 homes and businesses every week. It combines both fiber to the home (FTTH) and fiber to the cabinet (FTTC) architectures.

The recruitment drive reflects BT’s success with winning work from the government to the superfast broadband to areas that may not have been served otherwise (see “BT details next phase of fiber broadband deployments”). It also reflects the strong demand for fiber that the company is now experiencing, according to BT.

Prime Minister David Cameron said, “I warmly welcome the announcement from BT today. Working with business, the Government is driving a transformation in UK broadband services and with an extra 100,000 homes and businesses gaining superfast broadband availability each week, this is already taking shape. Providing much faster broadband speeds, and enabling millions more homes and businesses to enjoy these speeds is vital for driving investment and equipping the UK to compete and thrive in the global race.”

BT chief executive Ian Livingston added, “Faster broadband will help to fuel the UK economy and the jobs we are creating are part of that. Almost half of the jobs will be offered under our popular apprenticeship scheme giving young people the chance to earn a recognized qualification and pursue a career as a skilled telecoms engineer.”

The business will fill the 1,000 posts with a mix of apprentices, further armed forces personnel, and other candidates, including some long-term unemployed.

Four hundred apprenticeships are to be offered, providing young people with a training scheme lasting two and a half years. These apprentices will focus on installing new fiber-optic broadband connections in customers’ homes during their first year, before going on to learn the full range of engineering tasks.

At the end of their training, the apprentices will achieve a BTEC Level 3 Diploma and Certificate in ICT Systems and Principles. As part of their qualification, apprentices will also complete academic studies in math, English, and ICT, providing them with the skills needed to progress in the workplace.

These apprenticeships are likely to be much sought after, says BT. The operator has recruited around 460 apprentices to date in the current financial year having received 18,500 applications – more than 40 for each available position.

The support of individual governments in the European Union is required to ensure next generation broadband coverage and usage targets are met, a European Commission report states.

While the report predicts that half of EU households will gain access to 100-Mbps broadband networks in the coming years, it notes that only 26% of those homes will sign up to services on the networks. The figure falls short of an EC target for 50% uptake outlined in its Digital Agenda, in turn increasing the importance of national governments in spurring supply and demand, the report reveals.

The report, which was prepared by Analysys Mason and ICT policy advisors Tech4i2, also predicts that high speed broadband networks in Europe will generate cumulative economic benefits worth between €200 billion and €600 billion between 2012 and 2020.

“The report provides a substantial input into the debate on the value of high-speed broadband networks,” Matt Yardley, partner at Analysys Mason and director of the report’s team, says adding that the findings “will play an important role in supporting the EC’s Digital Agenda for Europe, as well as informing public and private stakeholders on the specific differences in the likely broadband outcomes between countries.”

Swisscom has outlined plans to provide 80% of all the households in Switzerland with ultra-high-speed Internet access by no later than 2020. Its plan includes a mix of technologies. While fiber-optic cables are being rolled out directly to homes and businesses in many towns and larger municipalities, Swisscom is focusing on fiber-to-the-street (FTTS) in areas away from major urban centers. Swisscom says it has now selected Huawei as its strategic partner and supplier for the FTTS expansion.

From the end of 2013, Swisscom will start offering ultra-fast Internet and multimedia services, even in areas which will not be connected to fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) in the coming years. To this end, Swisscom is laying fiber-optic cables to within about 200 m from buildings and using the existing copper cables to cover the remaining distance. FTTS enables bandwidths of up to 100 Mbps with current technologies. In three to four years, bandwidths of 400 Mbps or more will become possible, the operator says.

In early 2012, Swisscom put out a public call for tender for the supply of the FTTS network elements. Several network supply companies responded to the call. Having thoroughly examining the different offers, Swisscom picked Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. The two parties have now signed a collaboration agreement, which will run for eight years.

“We are pleased to be expanding our existing collaboration with Huawei on fiber-optic expansion. In Huawei, we have found an excellent, trustworthy partner with many years of experience and a high degree of security awareness,” said Heinz Herren, head of network and IT division at Swisscom. “Their solution offers us the best technological possibilities for expanding our FTTS broadband network in Switzerland.”

The contract primarily covers delivery of the active network components for installation in Swisscom cable ducts and construction projects. The contractual volume will be about CHF 300 million ($325 million) in total and is a part of the planned investment budget. In 2013 alone, Swisscom expects to invest approximately CHF 1.75 billion ($1.9 billion) in infrastructure expansion in Switzerland.

Swisscom launched FTTS pilot networks in the municipalities of Charrat (Valais), Grandfontaine (Jura) and Flerden (Grisons) in the autumn of 2012. Huawei’s technology will be implemented in these three municipalities. The first customers in these communities can already use services based on these new technologies. Swisscom will start to roll out FTTS at other locations by the end of 2013. The operator will also provide reseller offers for other telecommunications and Internet service providers on the new access technology to support competition.

As result of its annual study for the MENA FTTH market Panorama, FTTH Council MENA announced during their 4th annual conference in Doha, Qatar on 12 and 13 December 2012 the UAE as number One in the Global Ranking of Homes penetration. UAE is taking the lead of the Global Ranking with FTTH penetration rate of 64.8 per cent

The ranking covers all countries with at least 200,000 households where the penetration of FTTH/B has reached 1% of the total number of homes.

In June 2012, 32 countries were members of the Global Ranking with South Korea leading around 57% of Homes subscribing to FTTH and UAE has been included for years in the Global Ranking at top places to reach the top 1 in 2012.

Furthermore, three others MENA countries are entering the Ranking KSA, Qatar and Jordan.

“I am proud to mention in this occasion and based on our research as of the end of September that four Arab countries have entered the global ranking of being among the top 36 countries in the world of fiber homes passed and homes connected, and they are UAE, Saudi, Qatar, and Jordan, and also very proud to mention that the number one rank was occupied by the UAE. This is a clear testimony that our region indeed does have lots of potential and capability,” said Mr Faris Awartani, Chairman of FTTH Council MENA during the opening of the conference in Doha.

It is worth to mention that the MENA region is the home of the highest Take Rates of homes subscribed versus homes connected with an average of 41% comparing to France, UK and Switzerland as per IDATE the Consulting & Research partner of FTTH Council MENA.