Asia-Pacific is home to 75% of the world's FTTH/B customers, with the region's subscriber base growing strongly last year, research shows.
The FTTH Council Asia Pacific has published research showing that the number of APAC FTTH/B subscribers grew 28% in 2011 to 58 million.
Total FTTH/B coverage grew nearly 73% over the same period – by the end of the year, more than 175 million of the region's homes have been passed by fiber.
The research, conducted by IDATE, identified around 90 fiber projects across the region. It shows that incumbent operators have typically taken the lead in fiber deployments, accounting for 67% of APAC homes passed by FTTH/B.
Japan is still the leading FTTH/B market in APAC - and the world - but FTTH Council Asia said the market has reached maturity. Japan also lags behind South Korea and Hong Kong by market penetration.
While China's penetration is currently only around 5%, deployments are growing rapidly, and the market is expected to soon overtake Japan as the world's largest.
Taiwan is another leading FTTH/B market, with penetration approaching 30%. Subscribers are also growing rapidly in Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia.
APAC is also home to ambitious state-led fiber projects in Australia, Singapore and New Zealand.