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Jeff Heynen, directing analyst for broadband and video at
Infonetics Research, says, “Based on our conversations with
PON equipment vendors and network operators, we believe
FTTH and FTTB deployments will be largely unaffected by
the economic slowdown, as operators who have committed to
these deployments, including many of the world’s largest operators,
will stick with those plans, because fiber-based access is
such an important strategic opportunity for them. In fact, operators
can now lay fiber at a lower cost than before and, in the
case of Asia Pacific, government subsidization of nationwide
fiber buildout efforts provides even more incentive for operators
to continue with their rollouts.”
Other highlights from the Infonetics report:
• Worldwide BPON, EPON, and GPON subscribers are
forecast to top 46 million in 2011.
Global Telepresence Market to
Reach Nearly $2.5 Billion in 2013
Telepresence – a kind of videoconferencing technology
providing the sensation that all participants are actually
in the same room – is set for explosive growth, according
to a report from ABI Research (www.abiresearch.com). The
market, which includes telepresence equipment, network services
and managed services, is forecast to grow from a 2007
level of not quite $126 million to nearly $2.5 billion in 2013.
Telepresence requires high-bandwidth, low-latency service
such as that provided by fiber to the premises.
“People thought Jimmy Stewart was crazy when he talked
to his imaginary six-foot rabbit friend, Harvey,” says ABI Research
vice president Stan Schatt. “Now hundreds of senior
• Due primarily to heavy increases in PON deployments in
China, where the major operators are deploying EPONbased
FTTB networks in major metropolitan areas and will
continue to do so through 2011, Infonetics has increased its
long-term PON equipment forecast significantly.
• Quarter-over-quarter from 2Q08 to 3Q08, the EPON
equipment segment is up 38 percent.
• Year-over-year from 3Q07 to 3Q08, the GPON segment is
up 269 percent.
• Mitsubishi and Alcatel-Lucent occupy the #1 and #2 spots
for 3Q08 worldwide PON revenue, respectively, and Cisco
and PacketFront are running neck and neck in the Ethernet
FTTH equipment market, separated by only 1 point in
worldwide revenue share in 3Q08. BBP
Broadband Subscriber Growth to Slow in 2009
Unless Boosted by Stimulus Package
Approximately 5.7 million US
households will become new
high-speed Internet customers
this year, marking a 12 percent decline
in subscriber growth compared to 2008,
according to a new forecast by market
research provider Pike & Fischer (www.
broadbandadvisoryservices.com).
The total number of broadband-connected
homes will reach nearly 74.5 million
by the end of the year, representing
about 63 percent of all US households,
P&F says.
The cable industry will capture about
75 percent of new broadband subscribers,
because consumers are increasingly
spurning slow DSL lines and because
advanced services from Verizon and
AT&T are still available only in a portion
of their service areas.
P&F believes consumers will spend
less on communications services as their
job security becomes more tenuous and
their discretionary income plummets.
However, it says broadband customer
growth could exceed forecasts if the
Obama administration succeeds in its
plan to expand broadband availability
as part of a major economic stimulus
package.
“Government initiatives, such as tax
incentives and loan guarantees to help
expand broadband infrastructure into
underserved areas, could enable service
providers to bolster their customer
counts,” says Scott Sleek, director of
P&F’s Broadband Advisory Services. “In
addition, policy makers are likely to support
training and education programs
aimed at increasing customer adoption
of broadband. These steps could offset
what will be an inevitable slowdown in
subscriber growth.” BBP
executives are talking to virtual friends around the globe and
no one is laughing anymore. The telepresence illusion is so real
that many execs forget the person they’re talking to is not really
in the same room.”
Such realism is accomplished via high-definition, life-size
video, tightly lip-synched directional audio, coordinated décor
and special technologies enabling eye contact between participants.
And it typically requires only a single mouse click to
start a session.
What would induce companies to spend up to $330,000
for a telepresence setup The high cost of travel – in money,
wasted time, and carbon emissions – is one reason. Key execu-
12 | BROADBAND PROPERTIES | www.broadbandproperties.com | January/February 2009