Broadband Communities

JUL 2012

BROADBAND COMMUNITIES is the leading source of information on digital and broadband technologies for buildings and communities. Our editorial aims to accelerate the deployment of Fiber-To-The-Home and Fiber-To-The-Premises.

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FTTH MARKET RESEARCH MDU Owners Crave Fiber – If They Know What It Is An exclusive BROADBAND COMMUNITIES survey of multiple-dwelling-unit owners and managers shows both the market potential of fiber-borne broadband and reasons for the gap between the actual and the potential. By Steven S. Ross ■ Broadband Communities G reat broadband service is impor- tant to multiple-dwelling-unit (MDU) owners and operators, said respondents to a March 2012 survey sponsored by BROADBAND COMMUNI- TIES. A total of 58 percent agreed superior broadband was important to their cur- rent residents. Tey also said four of 10 tenant prospects asked about broadband when viewing properties. Almost half the respondents said they were "somewhat" or "very" interested in bringing FTTH to their existing properties. However, there is a problem: Only 40 percent of MDU owners and managers surveyed were aware of fiber to the home before being prompted. Awareness ex- ceeded 50 percent among those with new properties, higher-end properties large properties. Clearly, however, more education and promotion are necessary to increase FTTH awareness levels. Te stakes for FTTH vendors, net- work builders and operators are particu- larly high now because financing MDU fiber builds is somewhat easier than funding communitywide builds. (See the BROADBAND COMMUNITIES FTTH calculators at www.FTTHAnalyzer.com and the May-June issue's Bandwidth Hawk column for more details on the new potential for bringing broadband to MDUs.) Te news – both good and bad – comes from an exclusive BROADBAND COMMUNITIES survey conducted by mar- ket researcher Michael Render of RVA MDU owners and managers said having superior broadband at their properties is important to both current and prospective residents. LLC. It is by far the largest public survey of MDU owners and managers ever con- ducted with regard to their opinions and actions on broadband issues. Te report is based on 277 responses – and 160 phone interviews and 117 returned questionnaires. Tis large sample allows reliable results. Te survey results are 95 percent likely to be correct within a 6.5 percent margin of error and 90 per- cent likely to be correct within 5 percent (compared with surveying the entire uni- verse of MDU owners and managers). Almost 60 percent of the respon- dents own or manage properties with 101 units or more – historically the ideal size for FTTH deployment. Re- spondents reported patterns of resident broadband use similar to those in RVA consumer surveys. (See box and charts starting on page 14.) Michael Render presented the survey results at the 2012 BROADBAND COMMU- NITIES Summit. Te video of his presen- tation, followed by a blue-ribbon panel discussion, is available at www.bbcmag. com. (See the sidebar on the next page for detailed comments by panelists.) FIBER CONFUSION Why aren't more MDU owners and managers aware of FTTH? One answer may be that, although there is optical fiber throughout the nation's commu- nications networks, only 7 percent of American MDU households have fiber connections all the way to their homes. Another reason for the lack of aware- ness is that providers that do not deliver fiber directly to dwelling units or or to MDU basements have been astonish- ingly successful at spreading confusion about what fiber is and how network ar- chitectures differ. A typical cable company brings fi- ber to a DOCSIS node that serves as many as 500 customers. Te signal rides copper coaxial cable the rest of the way About the Author Corporate Editor Steve Ross can be reached at steve@bbcmag.com. 12 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2012

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