Fiber Deployment Status in the U.S.

The FTTH Council has released an interesting report detailing broadband and fiber to the home deployment in the U.S. Here's some key information points from the report:

Current Status of U.S. Internet Use:

22% No Internet
17% Dial-up Only
61% Broadband (based on the 200 Kbps FCC broadband definition)

Fiber to the Home is being used for services such as television, Internet, telephone, security, and meter reading. Here's March 2008 U.S. data from the report:

11,763,000 FTTH Homes Passed
10,082,065 FTTH Homes Marketed
2,912,500 Homes Connected

Even though coverage is expanding, it is not evenly distributed:

In the U.S. in areas covered by Verizon or Tier 3 ILECS (representing about 1/3 of homes) 5.8% of homes are directly connected with fiber.
In the U.S. in areas covered by AT&T, Qwest or Tier 2 ILECS (representing about 2/3 of homes) 0.6% of homes are directly connected with fiber.
In North America Outside of the U.S., only 0.1% of homes are connected with fiber.

Regarding television (March 2008 data):

8,061,620 homes have been offered television over fiber 1,641,000 homes are currently subscribed to television over fiber

Higher speed data service have yet to be offered widely by providers (March 2008 data):

Only 17,021 homes offered 100Mbps Internet

The FTTH Council has been a strong advocate for 100 Mbps services, urging legislators and regulators to adopt a “100 Megabit Nation” policy and reduce barriers to next-generation broadband deployment.

The overall customer take rates are increasing in areas where FTTH services are being offered and providers are offering a variety of delivery technologies.

The biggest concern of some, including myself, is uneven distribution and the potential creation of a "broadband divide" with broadband "haves" and "have nots" in the U.S.

There is an excellent 32 page presentation from the FTTH Council titled North American FTTH/FTTP Deployment Status in PDF format linked here.