By Howard Solomon
Assistant editor, Network World Canada
The move to fibre connectivity around the world continues to accelerate, according to updated figures from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Fibre to the home/building has overtaken DSL and cable in Korea and Japan and now accounts for 45 per cent of all Japanese broadband subscriptions and 39 per cent in Korea. Korea’s fibre penetration alone (12.2 per 100 inhabitants) is higher than total broadband penetration in five OECD countries.
On the other hand, the amount of fibre is so small in Canada, where Bell and Telus and other telcos are only scratching the surface in installation this country doesn't count in OECD fibre stats. We shouldn't feel too bad. In the U.S. fibre accounts for only three per cent of broadband subscriptions.
By the way, some countries are also investing in ways of making their fibre sing. Japanese providers advertise fibre speeds of 120 megabits per second. Fibre providers in Finland, France, Korea and Sweden say users can get 100Mbps. In Norway and the U.S., they're apparently satisified with 50Mbps.
Oh, well, at least we're in the middle of the pack in overall broadband penetration -- at least those of us who live in communities where providers offer broadband.
Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Sweden, Korea and Finland lead the OECD with broadband penetration well above the OECD average, each surpassing the 30 subscribers per 100 inhabitants threshold. We're also above the average.
In terms of numbers, the United States is the largest broadband market in the OECD with 75 million subscribers. U.S. broadband subscribers consistently represent 30 per cent of all broadband connections among member states.