According to a new report by market research firm Omdia, the number of gigabit broadband subscribers signed up globally is expected to jump to 50 million by 2022, more than double the 24 million at the end of 2020.
Peter Boyland, Principal Broadband Analyst at Omdia, said: "The demand for reliable broadband will drive the growth of gigabit services, with fibre networks playing a key role. ”
Omdia said the acceleration of fiber network deployments has helped drive an increase in gigabit connectivity. Analysts write, "There will be fewer than 620 million fiber optic network users worldwide by the end of 2020, but we expect that number to increase to 719 million in 2022." Most of this fiber user growth will occur in the Chinese market. ”
"By the end of 2020, the number of FTTH/B consumers contracted globally was just under 618 million, or about 58% of the total number of broadband connections. We expect this number to grow by more than 100 million to 719 million in 2022, accounting for 62% of the total number of broadband subscribers. Omdia wrote.
However, Omdia warned that service providers must "carefully consider market demand" to implement their gigabit network strategy and make targeted investments in fiber optic networks.
Omdia writes, "Service providers need to carefully plan and execute gigabit network deployments, analyzing a range of factors including infrastructure challenges, market competition, and anticipated demand." At the same time, these actions cannot stop as networks roll out – operators need to keep an eye on potential competitors and continue to innovate, update, and build service offerings to stay ahead of their competitors. ”
Analysts also point to the opportunity for vendors in the market to help service providers build "future-proof" networks. The report recommends that "vendors can provide long-term solutions, such as monitoring and automation tools, to extend the operator/vendor relationship beyond network deployment." ”
Of course, another important factor driving the growth of all these fiber-optic networks and gigabit connections is the COVID-19 pandemic, which is about to enter its third year, which continues to spur the ubiquitous demand for high-speed broadband, from remote work and education to telemedicine and secure entertainment.
In fact, analysts say the most important thing for consumers is a reliable service. According to Omdia's Digital Consumer Insights survey, 36 percent of respondents said their reliance on broadband services has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 55 percent said reliability ranks first among the most important features of home broadband.
Both gigabit broadband and fiber optic network growth will affect broadband speeds in the coming years. According to Omdia, "In 2020, only 2% of broadband subscribers will sign up for gigabit broadband services, but this share is expected to double to 4% by 2022." ”
In addition, the report said that the number of 500 Mbit/s-1 Gbit/s broadband subscribers will increase from 15% in 2020 to 21% in 2022, and it is expected that by 2026, 17% of broadband users will reach speeds above 1 Gbit/s.
Notably, while high-bandwidth entertainment use cases such as AR/VR were identified as drivers of rising home broadband speeds before the pandemic, Omdia's report barely mentioned the role these services played in the growth of gigabit services, referring only to them as "other drivers." (C114 Ace)