Operators Wait for Prices of Next-Gen FTTH Technologies to Drop

CAMPBELL, CA - Though the next generation of fiber-to-the-home technologies is now available - and will be needed to meet future bandwidth demands - operators are holding off on upgrading their FTTH networks until the price is right, according to new research from analyst firm Infonetics Research.

Jeff Heynen, directing analyst for broadband access at Infonetics Research, says, "Operators know they will have to keep pace with growing bandwidth demands. But for the most part, respondents will not replace existing FTTH technologies until the pricing of next-generation technologies -- including 10G EPON, XGPON1 (asymmetric 10G PON), and WDM-PON -- reaches parity with current equipment prices."

Infonetics Research released excerpts from "2011 Next Gen FTTH and PON Deployment Strategies: Global Service Provider Survey," which analyzes results from interviews with incumbent and competitive operators in North America, EMEA, Asia Pacific, and Central and Latin America about plans, drivers, pricing and product requirements for next-generation FTTH technologies.


Survey Highlights
- Though vendors have high expectations for a third wave of FTTH deployments using next-generation technologies, FTTH trials and deployments will be slow to materialize.
- Increased bandwidth per subscriber is the top reason operators will ultimately deploy next-generation FTTH technologies, followed by the delivery of IPTV and broadcast video.
- The features carriers most often require in an ONT (customer-premises device) were VoIP, 802.11n, and HPNA, signaling a continued shift away from basic bridge devices to integrated residential gateways.
- Calix was the vendor most often cited by carriers as one of the "top three FTTH vendors."