Operators should reconsider costly plans for fibre to the home (FTTH) and focus on copper-based technologies, according to report from Analysys Mason on FTTx roll-out and capex in developed economies over the next five years. The market researcher expects fixed operators wil have difficulty boosting revenues in the coming period as consumers focus additional spending on innovative mobile services and devices. While cable operators have already been offering faster broadband for some time, take-up remains "troublingly low", according to the report. FTTH may prove attractive to some early adopters, but it is unlikely to take off until new devices and services stimulate demand, the analysts expect. Furthermore, the difficult economic environment is likely to prompt at least some governments to rethink their long-term committments to fibre, in favour of focusing spending on more politically sensitive, social services such as health and education. The report recommends that operators should trial FTTH while focusing on less-expensive copper-based technologies, such as VDSL. While VDSL may not be able to meet demand for streaming video at some point in the future, the market researcher expects this point is still a long way off.
