Fiber-based broadband is hardly ubiquitous, but according to a new ABI Research report, it grew 29 percent from 2012 to 126.6 million subscribers in 2013. The research firm has forecast that by 2019, fiber-based broadband subscriptions will grow to 265 million subscribers, with a CAGR of 11.7 percent.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the growth of fiber to the home (FTTH) comes as DSL subscribers, particularly in Asia Pacific and North America, contracted about 1 percent to 378 million subscribers last year.
"Global DSL broadband service revenue dropped nearly 2 percent in 2013, mainly due to a declining subscriber base and average revenue per user in the Asia-Pacific," said Jake Saunders, vice president and practice director of core forecasting for ABI Research.
From a worldwide perspective, fiber-based broadband service grew 15 percent to $46 billion in 2013. European telcos such as BT and Russia's VimpelCom reported that growth in fiber-based broadband customers contributed to overall service revenue growth in 2013.
China continues to be an aggressor in the wireline broadband market as both China Telecom and China Unicom lead the global fixed broadband market shares with over 100 million and 64 million broadband subscribers, respectively, at the end of 2013. Meanwhile, China Mobile received a license to invest in fixed broadband services at the end of 2013, a move that could drive further competition and faster network buildouts in the Chinese fixed broadband market.
For more:
- see the release
Editor's Corner: Will AT&T's grand FTTH plan live up to its promise?
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