Ultra-fast fibre broadband customers predicted to hit 230m by 2016

The global number of customers with ultra-fast fixed fibre optic broadband lines is set to reach almost 230 million by 2016, according to IDATE.

Toward the end of last year, some 220 million people were signed up to some form of fibre-based broadband connection, with VDSL and fibre-to-the-home/building (FTTH/B) accounting for 88 million of these.

Roland Montagne, director of IDATE's telecom business unit, said FTTH/B infrastructure is "by far" the most common in Europe, but noted that this is not the case in North America, where cable services are most popular.

"In late 2011, there were 77 million FTTH/B subscribers worldwide compared to a total of about 250 million homes passed by FTTH/B," he explained.

Japan remains the world leader for these fibre optic broadband services, closely followed by China, IDATE revealed.

The news comes shortly after ABI Research highlighted the dilemma faced by telecoms firms in choosing whether to invest in DSL or FTTH technology.

Although FTTH offers far faster speeds, the cost of deployment is much greater.