U.S. fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) deployments grew 13 percent in 2015 as new, last mile fiber optic networks passed nearly 3 million homes for the first time, while FTTH penetration is accelerating. That brings the cumulative total of FTTH passings of 26 million, according to FTTH Council Americas’ latest annual survey.
This year’s growth adds to a trend that began in 2011, when U.S. fiber deployments began to accelerate, FTTH Council Americas highlights in a news release. “Fiber’s on fire in the U.S.,” president Heather Burnett commented. “Now, nearly one fifth of the world’s fiber connections are here in the United States. Offering faster speeds and better reliability, fiber sells itself.”
Furthermore, this year’s FTTH deployment marks the second-largest expansion since fiber optic networking was introduced, pointed out Michael Render, president of market research company RVA, which carried out the survey for FTTH Council Americas. “The industry is poised for substantial growth over the next five years,” he added.
Other key takeaways from FTTH Council America’s latest annual survey include:
- Higher standards yield higher results: 12.3 million homes are connected with FTTH in the U.S. That’s almost a 50% FTTH penetration rate, which is very high by the world’s standards, and, almost 20% of all true FTTH connections are now in the US.
- Providers are setting sights on gigabit service: The movement to both symmetrical service and Gigabit service continues in the U.S. and Canada. More than half of the over 1,000 FTTH providers in North America expect to be offering a Gigabit within 5 years.
- North America grows together: Nearly 34 million homes in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean are passed and marketed—Canada’s growth has been accelerating with 2.4 million homes marketed.
- Happy consumers mean more growth: Most of the FTTH growth is driven by consumer experience and word of mouth. FTTH consumers report over 50% higher satisfaction with fiber than with DSL or cable. Faster speeds and reliability of service drive consumer satisfaction and FTTH penetration.
