“Although operators continue to weigh the risk with the rewards of investing in FTTP, the need to offer video services is forcing operators to take a closer look at their network infrastructure,” observes Teresa Mastrangelo, principal analyst at Broadbandtrends.com. “The ability to offer uncompromised video services such as HDTV, video-on-demand, and peer-to-peer applications will have a serious impact on bandwidth requirements, helping to fuel demand for FTTP equipment.”
The report says that North America and the Asia-Pacific region will regionally dominate FTTP opportunities through 2010, and projects that North American FTTP subscriber share will grow from 5% in 2004 to 23% in 2010. Notably, GPON is gaining ground in Asia-Pacific, due to the technology’s ability to support both TDM and IP traffic. The report also forecasts a 50% decline in FTTP equipment average selling prices between 2005 and 2010.
The firm says that while many operators are deploying fiber on an incremental basis (e.g., FTTN and FTTC), most Tier 1 operators have long-term strategies involving FTTH. However, the firm warns that FTTP deployments continue to be challenged by advances in DSL technologies, interoperability issues, and high installation and activation costs, and says that operators must seek to strike a balance between infrastructure investment and revenue opportunities. Operators’ understanding of individual market-related dynamics, such as competition and service availability, may be essential to successful implementation of future services.
For more about the report, visit www.broadbandtrends.com.