Japan, South Korea continue to lead in fiber Internet

The number of fiber Internet subscriptions rose 12.7 percent in the countries that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Paris-based group said Thursday.

Just under 49 million fiber Internet connections existed across the 34 countries, according to the data. That represented about 15 percent of all fixed Internet lines, but in several nations the percentage of fiber connections is much higher.

Japan and South Korea lead the pack with fiber penetration of over 60 percent. Sweden, Estonia and Slovakia rounded out the top five with penetration in the 30 percent range. The other nations with above average fiber penetration were Norway, Iceland, Slovenia, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Portugal. Hungary was ranked just slightly below the average.

Penetration rates in the remaining countries, which included the U.S., U.K., France and Germany, were all under 10 percent.

While fiber continued to gain on rival technologies, it remained half as popular as cable Internet, which accounted for 31 percent of all fixed Internet connections. Both technologies continued to trail DSL, which accounted for just over half of all fixed Internet lines.

The OECD said there were 327 million fixed Internet connections in its member states at the end of 2012.
On the wireless Internet front, broadband connections rose 14 percent in 2012 and conventional mobile phone connections dominated. They accounted for 662 million lines, or 85 percent of the estimated 781 million broadband Internet connections in OECD countries at the end of 2012. Almost all of the rest were dedicated mobile terminals, such as 3G modems. Satellite and terrestrial wireless systems accounted for less than 1 percent.

Four countries—Finland, Sweden, Australia and South Korea—had mobile broadband penetration rates above one subscription per person.


The OECD includes most major European nations, the U.S., Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Chile. 

28Tbps undersea fiber backed by Google, China Telecom, NEC goes live

An 8,900 kilometer undersea fiber cable system in Asia, backed by a consortium including Google, China Telecom, NEC and a host of local telecommunications companies, went live Thursday.

 

The Southeast Asia-Japan Cable (SJC) system has an initial capacity of 28Tbps and connects China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore and Brunei with Japan and its link to transpacific fiber that runs to the U.S. The project will provide the lowest latency connection from Singapore to Los Angeles, said its main supplier, Japan's NEC.

 

The project was first announced in 2009 and construction started in April of 2011. Total costs were about US$400 million. NEC said the cable system consists of six fiber pairs that can carry the equivalent of 3 million HD video streams at the same time.

 

The majority of the investors in the project are large telecommunications providers and mobile operators that operate in the countries that were connected. In addition to China Telecom, these include China Mobile, Hong Kong's Donghwa Telecom, Globe in the Philippines, SingTel, and TOT in Thailand.

 

Google is an exception. Its share in the project could be used to link up its three massive new Asian data centers and connect them to its U.S. presence. In September 2011, Google acquired 15 hectares (150,000 square meters) in Taiwan to construct a facility that is to go live this year. It also said it acquired smaller plots in Hong Kong and Singapore that month to build data centers in those countries as well.

 

The new bandwidth could also be used to one day expand its service provider business. In the U.S., Google has recently launched its Google Fiber service in several towns, which offers 1Gbps Internet as well as TV packages. The online giant purchased large amounts of "dark," or unused fiber in the U.S. over the last decade.

 

The fiber project may also expand to link to Thailand, bringing its total length to 9,700 kilometers.

 

Follow me on Twitter @sajilpl

28Tbps undersea fiber backed by Google, China Telecom, NEC goes live

An 8,900 kilometer undersea fiber cable system in Asia, backed by a consortium including Google, China Telecom, NEC and a host of local telecommunications companies, went live Thursday.

The Southeast Asia-Japan Cable (SJC) system has an initial capacity of 28Tbps and connects China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore and Brunei with Japan and its link to transpacific fiber that runs to the U.S. The project will provide the lowest latency connection from Singapore to Los Angeles, said its main supplier, Japan's NEC.

The project was first announced in 2009 and construction started in April of 2011. Total costs were about US$400 million. NEC said the cable system consists of six fiber pairs that can carry the equivalent of 3 million HD video streams at the same time.

The majority of the investors in the project are large telecommunications providers and mobile operators that operate in the countries that were connected. In addition to China Telecom, these include China Mobile, Hong Kong's Donghwa Telecom, Globe in the Philippines, SingTel, and TOT in Thailand.

Google is an exception. Its share in the project could be used to link up its three massive new Asian data centers and connect them to its U.S. presence. In September 2011, Google acquired 15 hectares (150,000 square meters) in Taiwan to construct a facility that is to go live this year. It also said it acquired smaller plots in Hong Kong and Singapore that month to build data centers in those countries as well.

The new bandwidth could also be used to one day expand its service provider business. In the U.S., Google has recently launched its Google Fiber service in several towns, which offers 1Gbps Internet as well as TV packages. The online giant purchased large amounts of "dark," or unused fiber in the U.S. over the last decade.

The fiber project may also expand to link to Thailand, bringing its total length to 9,700 kilometers.

Follow me on Twitter @sajilpl