The second-annual Fiber-To-The-Home Conference will head into full swing in New Orleans this week as a sector that appears ripe for continued growth.
As of Oct. 1, 2003, FTTH access was available to about 180,300 U.S. homes, with about 64,700 homes already connected, said Render, Vanderslice & Associates, a market research firm. The FTTH Council contracted RVA to perform the study.
RVA noted that FTTH expanded slower than was forecast last year due to the delay of several large municipal builds, but growth has been accelerating the second half of 2003, as more projects reach the “feasibility and engineering stages.”
The technology has also opened up the door to applications such as video-based and interactive education from area colleges and localized, narrowcast video-on-demand events such as local high school plays and sporting events.
Late last month, RVA reported that the number of U.S. communities with access to services delivered via FTTH technologies has grown by 24, taking the total to 94 communities in 26 states.
“Contrary to popular opinion, there are far more homes passed by FTTH overbuilds than new home ‘greenfield’.” RVA noted.
The conference, which runs Oct. 7–9, follows an inaugural showing in 2002 that drew about 445 attendees.
Other items to emerge ahead of the show:
Allied Telesyn said it won a contract to supply the customer premises equipment for Phase I of the ambitious “UTOPIA” (Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency) FTTH rollout in Utah. Covering Salt Lake City and 17 surrounding communities, the deployment is expected to reach 250,000 homes and 35,000 businesses. Phase I of the project – which includes some 15,000 homes and commercial sites — is slated to begin in early 2004. Under the deal, Allied will supply its RG223 residential gateway, a device that features two analog phone ports and three 10/100 Ethernet LAN ports.
Wave7 Optics has teamed with the Jackson Energy Authority to build a fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network that will pass 31,000 homes and businesses. Wave7 said it received an initial purchase order of $15 million for the project, with completion expected in 2005. Jackson Energy provides water, natural gas, propane and electricity to customers in Jackson and Madison County, Tenn.
