Abstract
Re-visiting issues first identified in the BroadGroup report of 2005, this new
report reaffirms the continued expansion of Dark Fibre in Europe, with steady
growth averaging at 8% per annum, continuing through to 2012. The boom and
bust approach to new network deployment has vanished, and has been replaced by
an air of caution with speculative fibre build out being kept to a minimum and
mainly focused on the access part of the network to the customer site.
The report does however identify a number of new drivers in the marketplace
which is stimulating growth, ranging from sustained broadband demand and
continued growth in cross-border peak Internet traffic to the emergence of
community fibre, already a growth vector in North America. Muni-fibre appears
to be taking hold in a number of European countries (now around 15% of the
Dark Fibre provider market by type) and quite often these developments are
financed by local government authorities. These projects are now being
assessed by the European Commission whose aim is to make Dark Fibre as
accessible as possible to all user groups. But it also refers to the
increasing propensity of business users to "club" together and access Dark
Fibre links.
Perhaps most strikingly, the report contends that evidence collected in
research supports the view that Dark Fibre is becoming a service of choice for
an increasingly large number of companies, and is emerging as a marketplace of
opportunity, rather than its former image as an arcane and inaccessible part
of the network. New players see it as a service to sell to enterprises and
other operators, rather than a strategic asset to retain.
Incumbents have yet to resolve provision of access to Dark Fibre, and the
regulatory theme posed by the evolution of muni-fibre, is being sustained as
national regulatory authorities, particularly in the UK, France and Germany,
increase their focus on accessibility.
Using case studies and trend analysis, the report reviews the status of Dark
Fibre in 17 countries in western Europe, and identifies provider segmentation
ranging from utility companies to cable TV providers. A summary of Dark Fibre
activity by each player is provided.
Customers of Dark Fibre include an important group of academic networks, the
NRENs (National Research and Education Networks). Although NREN' s in Europe
are the most identifiable common users of Dark Fibre (and one of the main
international users) there are a number of new customer segments which are
becoming active users of the service, also identified in the report. In
targeting some of these segments, and capture market share, Dark Fibre
providers are adopting new pricing strategies.
However it is the emergence of FTTH (the report cites 30 key developments
across the region) which is most directly impacting Dark Fibre provider
business models. One such example is the new need to develop fibre-to-the-kerb
in tier 2 cities across Europe, and offering layered services, making it
possible for other players to provide their own services.
The report also considers new trends in fibre technologies and factors
impacting civil engineering costs in building out fibre networks. It also
summarises the main trends in fibre deployment in Europe where less used
routes are now favoured. The same approach applies to the deployment of
submarine cable systems in Europe. Rather than lay new systems on the most
saturated routes new cables are being laid on less developed routes.
Overall the report provides a comprehensive review of Dark Fibre markets and
players in Europe, updates on developments in the past three years and looks
forward to growth drivers through to 2012.
Key Benefits of the Report
- 17 Western European Markets
- Player profiles
- New Customer trends in Dark Fibre
- End User Survey
- Pricing trends in Dark Fibre and Cost Structure
- Key trends in Fibre technologies
- Future of Dark Fibre
- Growth Projections
- 14 Tables and Charts
- 100 pp
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