Broadband Communities

JUL 2014

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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74 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2014 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS Consumer Survey: FTTH Adds Value to MDUs A major new survey commissioned by Broadband Communities and conducted by RVA LLC shows that multifamily residents are highly satisfed with FTTH services. By Steven S. Ross / Broadband Communities R esidents of multiple-dwelling-unit properties (MDUs) who subscribe to fber to the home are highly satisfed with their broadband and video services – yet nonsubscribers are often unaware of the advantages of fber to the home. In an exclusive survey that Broadband Communities commissioned in spring 2014, market researcher Michael Render of RVA questioned more than 2,000 broadband users in multifamily housing throughout the United States. Te study showed that • Broadband is now the No. 1 amenity, displacing physical amenities such as washing machines and freplaces. • Internet speed sells, especially to young residents. • Knowledge of fber to the home is increasing but remains remarkably low. • Tough MDU residents are turning to over- the-top video, most still get their television content through traditional video providers. • Most consumers do most of their viewing on TV screens, although almost half (47 percent) own a tablet and close to 60 percent own a smartphone. KNOWLEDGE OF FTTH LAGS Te MDU resident most likely to know about FTTH is under 18, has completed some college, earns more than $100,000 a year and is a single male with children. Unfortunately, this particular composite is almost impossible to envision. What is clear is that the young are more likely to be exposed to fast fber in high school and college (thanks in large part to E-rate and distance-learning tools) and more likely to crave FTTH for its advantage in shoot- em-up games and over-the-Internet video. However, "more likely" tops out at only a 32 percent awareness rate. For the sample as a whole, only one in four MDU residents knew specifcally about FTTH advantages. Te term "FTTH" has not achieved category status as "DSL" or "cable modem" have. And despite Google's stirring the national imagination with the promise of gigabit service, the term "gigabit" was only about as well known as "fber to the home." Subscribers to FTTH, of course, see its advantages very clearly, and the growth in their numbers is accelerating. Slightly less than half the sample's FTTH users (49 percent) have subscribed for more than two years; a quarter The Broadband Communities/RVA study surveyed more than 2,000 MDU residents about broadband – making it the largest study of its kind.

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