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Fiber and cable account for three-quarters of global fixed broadband subscriptions

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Fiber and cable networks are dominating the global broadband market, with the technologies now servicing 77% of fixed subscriptions, new figures from Point Topic have revealed.

 

According to the Global Broadband Statistics, which take into account subscriptions up to the end of 2017, more than 50% of people in more than 40 countries, including Singapore (97%), China (89%), United States (87%), and the UK (55%), are connected via full-fiber, fiber-fed copper or cable.

 

Customers across most global regions increasingly prefer faster broadband services delivered over fiber and cable platforms, said Point Topic Research Director Dr Jolanta Stanke said.

 

This trend will continue as more bandwidth-hungry young consumers become paying decision makers, even though superfast 4G LTE and 5G mobile broadband services will compete for their wallets, she added.

 

Fiber-fed subscriptions – including Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH), Fiber-to-the-Building (FTTB), Fiber-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC), Very High Bitrate Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL), VDSL2 and Gfast – accounted for 57% of broadband subscriptions, with more than 530 million connections. Dr Stanke agreed that VDSL and Gfast were together largely responsible for the growth that fiber has seen, with more than 30 operators across all continents deploying or trialing Gfast.

 

“Gfast gives operators a more cost-effective variant of fiber that will be used by operators who want to upgrade their existing networks quicker and more easily,” she added.

 

In total, cable, including hybrid fiber-coaxial, accounted for 20% of all fixed broadband connections. According to the report, the latest standard of this technology is currently deployed across several markets, being especially popular in North America, and can deliver gigabit download speeds.

 

Broadband Forum CEO Robin Mersh said the figures reflect that new technologies that let operators deploy fiber deep into the network without having to enter buildings are quickly moving from trials to mass deployment.

 

“If operators want to deliver competitive broadband services, maximizing their investments through the use of technologies like Gfast is vital,” said Mr Mersh.