Test and measurement technology provider Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ: VIAV) has developed a database of information on planned and available gigabit broadband services worldwide. The Gigabit Monitor is based on publicly available data and updated regularly, mapping out wireline and wireless installations as they are planned, implemented, and completed.
"The gigabit revolution is in full swing and faster speeds can't come soon enough to feed an insatiable appetite for bandwidth," says Sameh Yamany, CTO at Viavi. "There are more than 20 billion connected devices and that number is continually increasing. For the consumer, there are obvious benefits. For society as a whole, research also shows that widely-available broadband can be a driver for growth and jobs. And with a 100-fold increase in speed, service providers will need to ensure that their ecosystems are ready for the massive network evolution required to deliver the customer experience they envision."
The Gigabit Monitor is available at http://www.gigabitmonitor.com. Some insights derived from the Gigabit Monitor include:
- State of gigabit – There are now at least 350 live gigabit deployments globally, with an additional 164 announced or under construction, across wireline and wireless technologies (including GPON, DOCSIS 3.1, G.fast, LTE-A, and 802.11ac)
- Contrasts by region – North America has the largest share of announced gigabit deployments with 61%; Europe is second with 24%, while Asia, Australasia, Middle East, Africa and South America share the remaining 15%.
- Deployments accelerate – The pace of gigabit deployments has increased sharply with more than 70% of the live gigabit deployments tracked launching since the start of 2015.
- Fiber domination – 85% of current gigabit deployments are based on fiber-optic networks. Hybrid fiber/coax accounts for 11%.
- Wireless gigabit – Nearly 3% of known gigabit deployments are based on LTE-A, a modified version of LTE that is gigabit capable.
- 5G deployments – 37 wireless carriers have announced plans for 5G networks. Five carriers plan to have 5G networks completed as early as 2017.
The Gigabit Monitor is a web-based tool that can provide information split by technology and geography. It also will show the status of individual deployments. Viavi asserts the database will be continually updated with new and corrected information from public information or user inputs.
For related articles, visit the FTTx Topic Center.
For more information on FTTx equipment and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer's Guide.