The World Broadband Information Service (WBIS) has revealed that 36% of broadband connections in Japan are now made up of next-generation Fibre To The Home/Premises (FTTH/P) technology. By itself Japan accounts for over 60% of the combined global FTTH/P market.

South Korea and Taiwan have also built strong FTTP deployments, with China quickly catching up. So what of Europe and the UK? Sadly the UK barely registers at all, leaving Italy by itself to account for 3.4% of the global market.

Meanwhile Scandinavian countries, such as Sweden, which have long had strong fibre networks, continue to exhibit the highest FTTH penetration rates in Europe. It may be sometime before the UK can catch up and even then it may not be full FTTH.