Industry Research Reports and Market Analysis at MindBranch.com
  

Fibre in the Last Mile in Europe

Product Type: Market Research Report
Published by: Frost & Sullivan
Published: June 2007
Product Code: R1-5972
Description
This Frost & Sullivan research service titled Fibre in the Last Mile in Europe provides an analysis of the main factors affecting the deployment of fibre in the access networks in Europe. The study also addresses the developments regarding fibre in the local loop in different European countries and provides a forecast for fibre- to-the-home deployments and subscriptions in Europe.

This analysis is available through our Communications Services Growth Partnership Services programme. With this programme, clients receive industry-leading market research such as this, along with technical and econometric data and many interactive features including Analyst Inquiry Time and Client Councils.

Market Sectors

Expert Frost & Sullivan analysts thoroughly examine the following market sectors in this research:
  • Broadband access
  • Content delivery
Technologies

The following technologies are covered in this research:
  • Fibre-to-the curb
  • Fibre-to-the-home
  • Fibre-to-the-node
  • Active Ethernet
  • GPON
Market Overview

Bandwidth Demand for Advanced Applications Facilitate Fibre Deployments in Access Networks

In view of the rapid broadband penetration growth and more importantly, bandwidth-hungry applications and services being deployed and consumed, service providers need to focus on their access network strategies. For the first time ever, major fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) deployments were announced in Europe during 2006. France Telecom, Iliad/Free and Neuf-Cegetel made public plans to reach most of the homes in France with fibre. Moreover, in the cities of Vienna in Austria and Amsterdam in the Netherlands, city-wide fibre networks were announced. This is in contrast to the announcements made by the British incumbent telecom operator, which confirm the company’s focus on digital subscriber lines for its broadband access strategy. Other regions such as the Nordic countries are continuing with a steady deployment of fibre in the local loop, mostly driven by municipalities and utilities companies.

Despite the increased investments in DSL technologies, video-based services, triple play offerings and social networking applications are putting into question the capability of DSL technology to meet future bandwidth demands. "High bandwidth applications and services are driving broadband penetration and bandwidth demand to an extent that operators need to deploy optic fibre further into the network to meet such demand," notes the analyst of this research service. "Several technologies are available to meet the delivery of bandwidth demand, of which fibre-in-the-local-loop, and in particular fibre-to-the home, is future-proof."

High Capital Investment Poses Restraints to FTTH Deployment

High capital investment and local network characteristics pose restraints to a full FTTH deployment across all countries in Europe. As a result, DSL technologies, which use the installed copper access network, continue to be the preferred broadband access technology for a large number of operators.

Despite the uncertainty regarding future applications and services and the extent of bandwidth demand, the deployment of fibre provides operators with an opportunity to future-proof the local access network and allegedly provide a better control over operational costs. Service providers will need to start looking at deploying fibre deeper into the network, to the home or building, in order to be ready to meet future bandwidth requirements.
Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary

1. Overview

1. Key Findings


2. Research Methodology

1. Methodology

1. Methodology Overview


3. Glossary

1. Acronyms and Definitions

1. Abbreviations

2. Industry Definitions


4. An introduction to FTTx Architectures and Technologies

1. FTTx Technologies

1. Defining FTTx

2. FTTx Network Architectures

1. FTTx Network Topologies

3. FTTx Solutions

1. Two Main Technologies


5. Driving Fibre in the Access Network

1. Need for Fibre

1. Delivering Converged Services

2. Fibre versus DSL

3. Expected Bandwidth Requirements

2. Deployment Analysis and Regulatory Scenario

1. Deploying FTTx

2. Regulatory Considerations

3. Cost of Deploying Fibre in the Local Loop

1. Capital and Operational Expenses


6. Market Engineering Measurements

1. Market Forces Impacting the Fibre in the Last Mile Market

1. Industry Challenges

2. Market Drivers

a. Bandwidth Demand for Advanced Applications and Services and Growth of Broadband Services

b. Significant Growth of Video-based Services and Applications

c. Triple Play Services or Convergence

d. Competitive Environment

e. DSL Limitations to Support Future Bandwidth Demand

f. Lower Operational Costs

g. Aging Copper Network and Degrading Performance

3. Market Restraints

a. Uncertainty in Bandwidth Requirement for New Services

b. High Capital Investment

c. Regulatory Environment

d. DSL Being Able to Cater to Current and Near-future Bandwidth Demand

e. Longer Time to Market

2. Market Forecasts

1. FTTx Current Scenario in Europe and Market Forecasts


7. Geographical Analysis

1. FTTx General Trends in Europe and Country Characterisation

1. General Trends

2. Denmark

3. France

4. Germany

5. Italy

6. Sweden

7. The Netherlands


8. Conclusions

1. Fibre in the Last Mile-The Right Solution for the Future Converged Communication

1. Final Words

Ordering and More Information
Price and Delivery Options


MindBranch has been the leading provider of industry and investment research from more than 550 independent research firms since 1992. With over 90,000 market research reports, MindBranch is your trusted source of competitive business intelligence.