Organizations in the United States are set to spend at record levels on fiber-to-the-home service during the next five years, according to a new study from research firm RVA LLC Market Research & Consulting (RVA).
The firm’s study, “North American Fiber Broadband Report: FTTH Review and Forecast 2026-2030,” says that during the period of the study found that almost $200 billion will be spent on fiber. Potential challenges and constraints include permitting, available workforce and materials, the press release said.
The study also says that the diversity of fiber providers is growing. Growth will be driven by telecom companies, cable MSOs, private competitive providers, municipalities and rural electric cooperatives, the report says.
Though tier-one telephone companies remain the largest single source of fiber penetration, its level of dominance will fade from 93% in 2006 to 46% by the end of the study period.
The report notes that the Caribbean and Canada also will see continued growth, but not at the rates seen in the United States. The forecast is based on more than 3,000 consumer interviews, hundreds of network operators, vendors and experts and reviews of FCC data.
Other research validates RVA’s findings. Last month, the Fiber Broadband Association’s (FBA) annual Fiber Deployment Cost Report, which was conducted by Cartesian, found that the number of homes connected by fiber access grew by grew by more than 11.8 million last year. That brought the number of homes connected in the U.S. to more than 60%.
Ninety-two percent of respondents in that study said that fiber deployment costs had risen during the past year. The research found that aerial deployments — at $8 per foot — were less than half as expensive as underground construction, which was priced at $18 per foot.
In December, RVA — in a study released by the FBA — found that fiber grew at record pace last year.
