The number of homes/buildings passed worldwide accelerated at a rate of more than 47% in the same period, leading to 179 million homes connected to fibre in mid-2011.
The increase in the number of homes passed, compared to the number of actual subscribers, has led IDATE to suggest that roll outs will continue to be a priority for many players in anticipation of a surge in demand in the future.
China stood in second place behind Japan between December 2010 and June 2011, with a 14% growth compared to Japan’s 5%. Should the trend continue, China is expected to overtake Japan in the coming years.
In Europe, Russia continued to be the largest FTTH/B market, with nearly 5.2 million FTTH/B subscribers by mid-2011. Sweden is still in the top 10 markets, but it has shown slow growth over the last year. France has been making real strides in terms of the number of homes passed, but ISPs have been struggling to persuade broadband customers to switch to FTTH/B, with the result that penetration rates are still low.
Europe is forecast to see its global percentage of subscribers shrink by 2015, due to faster growth in Asia-Pacific and North America. However, the Asian market is particularly disparate. China is experiencing massive growth, while other markets are levelling off.
