Why Fiber-to-the-Home, Why Now?

Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) has become a reality. More than a million consumers now use direct fiber optic connections in the United States, more than 6 million in Japan, about 10 million worldwide.

FTTH is also widely recognized as the optimal solution for providing broadband to new and existing communities alike. In fact, hundreds of FTTH communities are flourishing here. Why? FTTH offers more bandwidth and more flexibility than alternatives, at a similar price. It is more cost effective than ever for providers to install future-proof fiber.

The basic technological and economic challenges of FTTH have been resolved. Based on the immense capacity of fiber - already the foundation of the world's telecommunications system - FTTH is now being deployed around the country and around the world. Almost all large developers are putting fiber in their new developments. Independent telcos are deploying it in rural America at an increasing rate. Municipalities in the U.S. and elsewhere are finding FTTH can be a feasible solution today that positions their communities for tomorrow's jobs and economic growth.

There's no problem for optical fiber. In fact, one bundle of fiber cable not much thicker than a pencil can carry ALL of the world's current communications traffic.

So why should there be any confusion? Different types of people have different things in mind when they talk about FTTH:

• Engineers talk about bandwidth, as if raw capacity to move bits and bytes of data is an end in itself.
• Consumers think about the products and services that bandwidth can provide NOW. They can't demand services they don't know about, or that have not been invented.
• Political leaders, corporate economists and academics often have a third view: Bandwidth as publicly available infrastructure, a utility that makes it easier for people to develop new products or start entirely new businesses.

Public infrastructure also makes private property more valuable. A house, for instance, is generally worth much more if it has access to a public street, water, and sewer services, public schools and other "utilities" than if it does not.

As a consumer, can you afford to buy a home that will have to be modified in a few years to accommodate that fancy new TV or the phone system your job demands? It is more important than every to understand the effects of bandwidth capacity and the advantages of Fiber to the Home.