End-to-end copper decline as a broadband access method is accelerating just as fibre makes significant gains for the second quarter in a row, according to research from Point Topic.
The findings show that globally fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) and cable subscriber figures are very close to converging as FTTH is catching up with cable by showing consistently higher growth rates. The latter could provide a huge spike to the growth of IPTV services in addition to OTT video.
China continued to be the main diver behind the significant FTTH growth, though the Americas also saw FTTH technology share increase in Q3 2015, mainly led by Canada and the US. In the latter territory, fixed broadband subscriber growth was found to slowing down due to the increasing take up of mobile broadband, especially over 4G LTE platforms.
Point Topic also found that Italy was one of the few examples of countries which are embracing VDSL technology, having recorded a 23% quarterly growth in VDSL subscribers this quarter, making it top of the list globally.