The penetration of fiber-optic services to businesses across the nation continued to increase last year, according to a recent study.
Research from Vertical Systems Group found that the availability of optical fiber facilities extended to 32 percent of U.S. commercial locations with 20 or more employees last year, compared with fiber penetration of 28 percent in 2010. Fiber-connected buildings enable tenants to access network services using direct fiber connections that provide bandwidth up to multi-gigabit per-second rates.
“Direct fiber is the preferred access technology deployed for business services like Ethernet and IP VPNs and for connectivity to the Internet and cloud-based applications,” said Rosemary Cochran, principal at Vertical Systems Group. “With the majority of larger U.S. buildings already fiber-connected to one or more networks, service providers widened their fiber footprints in 2011 to cover more small and medium locations through new construction, strategic partnerships or acquisitions.”