Ovum finds global fibre-to-the-home market rose in Q1

The global market for fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband technology grew significantly in the first quarter of 2011, according to new research.

Independent telecoms analyst Ovum revealed the FTTH, fibre to the building, passive optical network (PON) and optical line terminal (OLT) market saw port shipments rise 35 per cent quarter on quarter.

When compared with the corresponding three-month period of 2010, the increase stands at 182 per cent.

The Asia-Pacific region accounted for 93 per cent of the 988,889 ports shipped over the quarter, the report found, with much of the growth driven by China.

Kamalini Ganguly, Ovum analyst and author of the study, said: "Shipments also jumped in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region and in the south and central America region to their highest levels ever."

Fiberhome, Huawei and ZTE accounted for the top three positions for PON and OLT purchases.

Earlier this week, BT announced a new research partnership with ZTE that will see the two telecoms giants work together to explore advances in mobile, wireless and fixed-line broadband services.