Fibre network operators defied the recession to add more than
5.5 million new residential and business subscribers worldwide, 15%
up on six months ago, says the
FTTH Council.
The bi-annual global figures published today at the FTTH Council
North America's annual conference and exhibition in Houston, Texas,
includes all economies where more than 1% of households have a
FTTH/B (fibre to the home/business) connection.
The data, collected at end of June, shows 21 economies met this
threshold. The UK, which last week
slipped down the global broadband rankings, was not on the
list. The top 10 all had more than 5% of their households connected
with FTTH/B.
The Asia-Pacific region still led the global ranking with South
Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan taking the first four places,
followed by the Nordic countries of Sweden and Norway.
The top three in terms of new subscribers were China, Japan and
the US, which added nearly 800,000 to keep its place in the top
10.
"In North America, FTTH continues to grow rapidly, driven by
high satisfaction among those who have it, as well as the obvious
competitive bandwidth and connectivity advantages," said Joe
Savage, president of the FTTH Council North America.
Karel Helsen, president of the FTTH Council Europe, said Europe
saw steady growth despite the economic downturn. "With Slovakia
joining the list, we have now 14 countries eligible for inclusion,"
he said.
France, UK and Germany were still missing from the list, he
said. "Two million subscribers in Europe is still a small number
compared to six million in North America and more than 30 million
in Asia-Pacific."
The next update of the FTTH global ranking, reflecting the
status of fibre-connected households at the end of 2009, will be
presented at the FTTH Council Europe's annual conference in Lisbon,
Portugal, on 24-25 February, 2010.