FTTx around the world

At a time when FTTx is developing at a disparate pace around the globe – with an overall forecast of 227 million FTTH/B subscribers on the planet by 2015 – IDATE is announcing the upcoming publication of an international survey of residential ultra-fast broadband subscribers.

The ultra-fast broadband market continues to develop swiftly in most corners of the globe, in terms of both subscriber numbers and homes passed.

During the 5^th annual ultra-fast broadband symposium in Paris (5^èmes assises du très haut debit), the Director of IDATE’s Telecom Business Unit, Roland Montagne, will be giving a talk about the status of FTTx rollouts around the globe, drawing on the findings of his unit’s FTTx Watch Service.

At the end of 2010, there were close to 61mn FTTH/B subscribers around the world, which marks a more than 53 per cent increase over the previous year. This momentum is expected to result in a substantial rise in the number of homes passed for fibre over the next five years: at the end of 2015, there will be close to 493 million homes passed for FTTH/B worldwide, of which more than half will still be located in Asia, and 15 per cent in Western Europe.

Regional FTTx subscriber numbers for 2010 and 2015

Source: IDATE

Exclusive survey: IDATE will be publishing the first every international survey of residential broadband and ultra-fast broadband subscribers – whose aim is to better understand the mechanisms and reasons governing the switch from broadband to ultra-fast broadband (UFB).

Any analysis of the development of ultra-fast broadband around the world still relies to a large degree on examining operators’ rollouts and the services they market. The latest data on homes passed and actual subscribers reveal huge disparities in national FTTH/B penetration rates, without offering any detailed explanation. The report being drafted by IDATE explores the topic of FTTH/B market development from the demand side of the equation, in other words by conducting a survey of the users themselves.

The goal of this original survey is to take stock of the situation from various angles, including equipment levels, connectivity, consumers’ current and future requirements, etc. The ultimate purpose being to achieve a deeper understanding of the process of switching from broadband to ultra-fast broadband, and to deliver concrete explanations of what consumers view as incentives or disincentives to switch.

The survey carried out in May and June in four countries – the United States, Japan, France and Sweden – will be available soon.

Provisional ToC for the “Ultra-fast broadband consumer survey: better understanding switching mechanisms” 

1. 1. Executive Summary 

1. 2. Internet

• Internet coverage levels, broadband and ultra-fast broadband (UFB)
• Broadband and UFB take-up levels
• Types of subscription (connection speed, ISP, pricing, bundles)

1. 3. UFB subscribers’ multimedia equipment

• Results by type of equipment: computer, TV/video, games, connectivity…
• Are UFB households over-equipped?
• Was the equipment bought before or after subscribing to ultra-fast broadband?

1. 4. How UFB subscribers use the internet

• The most bandwidth-hungry applications (download and upload)
• Type and frequency of use: TV and video, games, other
• Is there really a connection between supposedly killer apps and UFB adoption?
• Were these consumption habits adopted pre or post- ultra-fast broadband?

1. 5. Switching mechanisms

• Users’ degree of satisfaction with their internet connection, according to use
• UFB subscribers

-       Switching incentives/triggers

-       Sales (churn, marketing, price differences)

• Planning to switch: catalysts and sales approach
• Broadband customers with no plans to upgrade: reasons for not switching to UFB
• Does UFB really deliver a noticeably enhanced user experience?
• Can we pinpoint the key elements driving the switch to ultra-fast broadband?