Fiber Development Index

Analysis: 2022

Brought to you by Informa Tech

 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 01

Contents
Executive summary 2

Why fiber investment is so critical 5

Moving toward a gigabit society with advanced fiber technology 13

The FDI 2022: Key results 15

Legislation best practice 27

Best practice for fiber development and key tools to enable faster deployment 34

Appendix 40

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 02

Executive summary
The Fiber Development Index (FDI) tracks and benchmarks fiber development across 88 countries.
Fiber investment is vital to the quality delivery of all data services and, therefore, merits thorough
contextual analysis. Unlike other fiber benchmarks that largely track household coverage and/or
penetration, the FDI includes a wider set of fiber investment metrics, including:
⚫ Fiber to the premises (FTTP) coverage
⚫ Fiber to the household (FTTH) penetration
⚫ Fiber to the business (FTTBusiness) penetration
⚫ Mobile cell site fiber penetration
⚫ Advanced WDM technology investment
In addition to the fiber investment metrics, the FDI, based on Omdia’s analysis of Ookla Speedtest
data, goes on to quantify the overall broadband quality of experience improvements driven by that
investment, namely:
⚫ Median download speed
⚫ Median upload speed
⚫ Median latency
⚫ Median jitter
Fiber investment is an essential metric for government institutions, network operators, and other
stakeholders such as media companies to track. As a broadband-access technology, optical fiber
provides an optimized, highly sustainable, and future-proof quality service. This superior level of
quality is essential for the development of future digital services and applications across all verticals,
including (but not limited to) entertainment, education, home working, corporate services, smart
city, and health. With increased efficiency stimulating greater innovation, high-speed broadband has
been proven to drive not just consumer satisfaction but national economic indicators, with
additional GDP growth of 0.25% to 1.5% for every 10% increase in household broadband penetration
and a further 0.3% increase for every doubling of speed. Only by maximizing investment in next-
generation access can countries optimize their growth potential, and fiber-optic technology is key to
that investment, whether this is in the backhaul or access network.
Singapore again leads the 2022 FDI, with maximum scores in seven of the nine metrics. It is closely
followed by South Korea, China, the UAE, Qatar, and Japan, which complete the current Cluster 1
territories. Within the five chasing territories, China is currently the fastest developing and is the
only territory in Cluster 1 to have increased its ranking. All territories in the leading cluster benefit

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 03

from strong national broadband plans with ambitious targets around ultra-high-speed services,
often backed by generous government grants or subsidies.
In the past, several otherwise highly developed broadband territories that rank lower in the fiber
index—such as the US, Australia, and the UK—tended to suffer from less clear or ambitious national
plans, providing weaker incentives for operators to invest. To some extent, this was often linked to
less favorable geographical and demographic conditions that made government initiatives expensive
and, therefore, likely to come up against significant political objections. However, due in some part
to the COVID-19 crisis demonstrating just how important broadband networks are, governments
around the world are now strengthening their broadband targets and increasing their focus and
investments in fiber-based infrastructure.
This white paper has been sponsored by Huawei, with all analysis and conclusions arrived at
independently by Omdia.

Key points and recommendations

⚫ It’s critical that the digital divide is not focused solely on being connected versus
unconnected. Broadband connectivity is now essential to everyday life. However, the quality
of that connectivity is also vitally important. For many digital applications—such as video
conferencing, gaming, and video streaming—to work well, they need high-speed, low-
latency, and highly reliable and consistent networks. Those individuals and businesses that
have such access will be at a significant advantage over those that don’t.
⚫ Fiber is not just about high speed. Concentrating only on speed makes the business case for
investing in fiber access difficult to justify, especially as copper-based access technologies
continue to improve their own speed capabilities. However, fiber also brings a range of
other benefits to an operator, including higher overall quality of service (QoS), lower
maintenance costs, lower energy costs, and smaller physical infrastructure requirements. All
such characteristics need to be considered when developing fiber investment plans.
⚫ Governments must recognize the benefits to the wider society. Investing in greater fiber
development not only brings benefits to end users and network operators, but to society as
a whole. The broadband industry supports a wider ICT industry that typically accounts for
between 2% and 7% of a country’s overall GDP and supports a vast range of industries, from
manufacturing to health institutions to educational facilities, as well as supporting more
social aspects such as well-being and social equality. Investment in advanced broadband
technologies such as all-fiber-optical networks, therefore, will bring vital socioeconomic
growth to a country.
⚫ Fiber is future-proof and more sustainable. Beyond economic benefits, an all-fiber network
is virtually future-proof and has significant environmental benefits over copper-based
networks. In 2019, Telefónica (Spain) stated that its FTTH network was 85% more energy
efficient than its old copper infrastructure. Over three years, the operator said its FTTH
initiative had saved 208GWh, representing a reduction of 56,500 tons in CO2 emissions. As
countries move to a greener future, fiber-optical-based communications must be part of
that plan.

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 04

⚫ An end-to-end fiber network is fundamental to digital transformation. Quality of

experience guarantees will rely on end-to-end optical networking. This has led to a major
industry mind-shift in flattening the metro network to a single-hop optical access that will
ensure guaranteed bandwidth, higher network resiliencies and reliability, and service-level
agreement (SLA) assurance for vertical business services and home users.
⚫ Leading territories will start to extend the access network deep into customer premises.
Enterprises increasingly rely on time-sensitive networks to optimize their performance.
Therefore, we will see a push to implement FTTMachine to connect machines and industry
robots in order to utilize fiber’s high bandwidth, high reliability, low latency, anti-
interference, and high-confidentiality features. Starting with the high-end segment of the
market, we will also see FTTRoom technology increasingly used in residential settings.
⚫ Governments should pass legislation to enable gigabit societies. Governments should
ensure that telecommunications infrastructure can be deployed in the most efficient
manner, by requiring all new developments/real estate to be equipped with in-building mini
ducts, fiber, in-building access points, or other physical infrastructure to accelerate
deployment and reduce rollout cost.
⚫ To encourage greater fiber deployment, all regulators must follow best-practice policies,
including:

– Facilitating deployment through municipality approvals, using existing resources (government

buildings, streetlights, ducts etc.,) and sharing infrastructure/facilities.

– Introducing and enabling flexibility in partnership arrangements, such as allowing agreements

between players; co-financing; collaborative models; public-private partnerships; and innovative
partnerships.

– Providing financial support through investment, incentives, and subsidies (e.g., universal service
funds).

– Implementing regulatory flexibility, including removal of outdated or nonessential regulations.

– Improving access to telecoms facilities and physical infrastructure; improving procedures for
rights of way and accessing public infrastructure, as well as broadband mapping.

– Setting coverage/minimum speed targets through a national broadband plan or universal service
obligation (USO).

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 05

Why fiber investment is so

critical
Our reliance on broadband access only continues
to grow
Broadband access is rapidly changing the way we live, work, and play. Due to the impact of COVID-
19, 2021 witnessed record uptake in many digital services and applications. Although in most
countries and territories restrictions have now eased, the impact of the pandemic will continue to
stretch far beyond the initial health and social crisis, with industry trends and people’s behavior
undergoing a long-term change.
Figure 1 shows that the use of video-based services in particular has grown, not just limited to
entertainment applications. Also, 51% of respondents to Omdia’s Digital Consumer Insights survey
stated that their use of video calling had increased in 2021, with 18% noting the change as
significant.

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 06

Figure 1: Reliance on digital applications continues to grow

Source: Digital Consumer Insights 2021, Omdia

A rapid rise in home working was one driver of the increase in video-conferencing, and even though
most places of work are now fully open, many workers have continued to work from home, at least
on an occasional basis. In a survey by PwC of over 52,000 workers across 44 countries and territories
(PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2022), 26% of respondents stated that they would
prefer to continue to work from home full time; however, only 18% noted that their employer would
expect this. On the flip side, only 11% of workers said that they would prefer to work full time in the
office, with a greater 18% stating that this is likely to be their employer’s preference. Therefore,
hybrid working is likely to be the compromise made by many employers, making home working IT
solutions a key growth segment moving forward.
It is not just residential users that are increasingly turning to online applications. It is imperative that
enterprises of all types digitize their operations to remain relevant to their customer base and drive
greater efficiency—and this means an ever-increasing reliance on fast, reliable broadband access
services. In a survey of just under 100 enterprise executives, over 55% of respondents stated that
their businesses now required faster broadband access to meet the needs of their customers, run
business applications, and remain competitive in general. Also, 38% noted that they have employees
who also need to gain access to business broadband services (see Figure 2).

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 07

Figure 2: Enterprises require faster and faster broadband to run their business applications

Source: Thought Leadership – Enterprise Survey 2021, Omdia

Closing the true digital divide

Broadband investment is a key driver of country growth and development. Although complex to fully
quantify, the importance of broadband connectivity in socioeconomic development is undeniable.
The global broadband subscription market alone was worth over $356bn at the end of 2021 and
supports a wider ICT industry that typically accounts for between 2% and 7% of a country’s overall
GDP.
The benefits of broadband, however, spread far beyond those that can be directly monetized. For
example, a study by the World Bank concluded that the chance of an educated population finding a
job increases by 7–13% when it has access to fiber-optic infrastructure. Additionally, broadband
networks are used to support a vast range of industries, from manufacturing to health institutions to
educational facilities, as well as supporting more social aspects such as well-being and social
equality.
Governments around the world now recognize the importance of broadband at a country level, with
the majority setting out national broadband plans to drive greater connectivity penetration. To some
extent, such efforts are working, with the global unconnected population dropping from 45% in 2019
to 27% by 2026. However, 30% of that connected population by 2026 will still only be connected via
mobile access.
Mobile broadband connectivity can bring quick and significant economic impact in emerging
economies, but as modeled by the ITU in its report How broadband, digitization and ICT regulation
impact the global economy, this impact reduces due to diminishing returns as penetration increases.
In contrast, the level of benefit increased in line with fixed-broadband penetration. Moreover, the
greater the broadband maturity of a country, the more capable it is of increasing product digitization
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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 08

and further driving its economic impact (see Figure 3). It is imperative, therefore, that countries do
not push simply for 100% connectivity but 100% fixed-broadband connectivity.

Figure 3: Economic contribution of mobile versus fixed broadband

Source: How broadband, digitization and ICT regulation impact the global economy, ITU and Omdia

However, 100% fixed-broadband penetration is not the end goal. With broadband, the quality of a
connection is just as important as the connection itself. Unlike other utility services such as gas and
electricity, the quality of broadband network is important, as higher-speed, lower-latency networks
can support a greater number of more sophisticated, cloud-based applications. This wider, more
advanced set of internet applications can help further drive a country’s wealth and overall efficiency.
The future digital divide, therefore, should not be measured by the level of connectivity, but by the
level of high-speed fixed-broadband connectivity. By this measure, though, the divide is only growing
bigger—not smaller.
Figure 4 shows the global population by region and how they will be connected by 2026. The chart
shows that most regions other than Africa will have reached well over 50% connectivity penetration
by 2026. However, in developed areas such as North America and Oceania, Eastern & South-Eastern
Asia, this connectivity is almost all fixed broadband, and significant portions of the population
receive high-speed broadband connections of over 500Mbps. In less-developed regions, however,
the availability of such high-speed broadband access is still small. If such regions don’t catch up
quickly, then they will be left at a serious disadvantage—especially as the world moves to
applications like XR and the metaverse.

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 09

Figure 4: Percentage of connected population, by fixed-broadband speed, by region, 2026

Source: Omdia

Fiber is the ultimate broadband technology

As discussed in the Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2021 report, end-to-end optical-fiber
networks outperform all other broadband technologies on all QoS metrics, including superior
network consistency properties, thus ultimately providing the best quality of experience (QoE) to the
customer.
In this report, we highlight the results of the most recent broadband QoE metric report, UK Home
Broadband Performance, from the UK telecommunications regulator, Ofcom. In this report, data
shows that although at the time of measurement, the UK cable broadband operators were offering
higher top-download speeds than the newer FTTH operators, the average speeds over the cable
network could vary considerably depending on the time of day and congestion on the network. In
comparison, speeds across fiber networks remained highly consistent (Figure 5).

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 10

Figure 5: Fiber provides the most consistent download speed

Source: “UK Home Broadband Performance,” Ofcom and Omdia

Ofcom’s report also highlights fiber networks’ low-latency characteristics. Figure 6 shows that
regardless of speed, the fiber-based offerings consistently offer lower latency than services provided
over other broadband access networks.

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 11

Figure 6: Full-fiber networks offer lower latency

Source: “UK Home Broadband Performance,” Ofcom and Omdia

Fiber brings business benefits beyond customer

satisfaction
As well as delivering a superior QoS experience, full-fiber networks have several other network
benefits that operators must consider when developing fiber investment business models.
Compared to copper-based networks, full-fiber infrastructure is newer, made of highly resilient
material, and is more passive. These features mean that full-fiber networks need far less
maintenance, and as they don’t require as much active equipment in the field to power them, their
energy consumption is lower, and there is less need for field maintenance.
In addition, as optical-fiber cabling offers significantly higher bandwidth capacity at a fraction of the
size and weight of copper wiring, it uses far less cabling and fewer racks and switches than copper-
based networks—saving both physical space and money. Finally, the smaller size of the optical
cables makes it possible to deploy using a technique known as “micro-trenching,” which is cheaper,
quicker, and less environmentally destructive than traditional telecom network trenches.

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 12

Fiber helps with the telco green agenda

The green agenda has become an important topic for national governments and private enterprises.
Many broadband service providers have already adopted environmental elements to their list of
corporate values. Moving to a 100% fiber-optical network can also help with such initiatives, as fiber
has several inherent properties that make it more environmentally friendly compared to copper-
based networks.
Full-fiber networks require much less active equipment in the field to power them, significantly
reducing energy consumption. An optical distribution network (ODN) requires zero electrical power.
In addition, due to fiber’s significantly higher bandwidth capacity at a fraction of the size and weight
of copper wiring, it requires significantly less power per bit. Typically, according to equipment
vendor Huawei, for every 10,000 access connections that evolve from copper access to a FTTH
Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON), the operator saves over 1,500kWhs of power.
In 2019, Telefónica (Spain) stated that its FTTH network was 85% more energy efficient than its old
copper infrastructure. Over three years, the operator said its FTTH initiative had saved 208GWh,
representing a reduction of 56,500 tons in CO2 emissions. In Belgium, incumbent telco Proximus
noted that data transmission over its fiber network uses up to 12 times less energy than on its
copper network. A large part of this energy saving is down to the significant reduction in the number
of street cabinets, as well as the reduction in size of the remaining ones.
A study launched in 2017 by Europacable, a European organization representing wire and cable
producers, concluded that fiber is 64% more energy efficient than hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) cable
technology. It found that performing at 50Mbps, fiber networks consume 56kWh per capita per year
compared to 88kWh for DOCSIS.
Due to its superior network qualities, the move to advanced fiber networks can also bring indirect
environmental benefits by reducing commuting trips because of video conferencing and home
working. Openreach in the UK, for example, estimated that moving to a full-fiber network would
enable 230 million fewer commuting trips per year—equivalent to 700,000 tones of saved carbon.

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 13

Moving toward a gigabit

society with advanced fiber
technology
Fiber access improves end-to-end optical
networking
PON-based access networks are already supporting residential and non-residential customers and
applications. Next-generation PON variants, such as 10G PON, are optimized to support future FMC
(fixed-mobile convergence) needs as transport traffic (such as wireless backhaul) can be supported
over the same PON infrastructure as end-user services. This approach saves fiber assets and
operational costs, thereby achieving faster ROI. In addition, next-generation PON access networks
will be future-proofed to support all enterprise services and smart city applications.

Figure 7: Moving to a flat optical network for optimized efficiency

Source: Huawei

It’s important to note that this future transport network will not be a dumb pipe that is fully
dependent on IP capabilities, but it will rely on end-to-end optical networking to ensure guaranteed
user experiences. This has led to a major industry mind-shift in flattening the metro from the

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 14

traditional five hops to one-hop optical access (see Figure 7). An underlying optical network—
wavelength-division multiplexing (WD) and optical transport network (OTN)—that flattens the metro
and backbone network with all-optical fiber, ensures guaranteed bandwidth, higher network
resiliencies and reliability, and service-level agreement (SLA) assurance for vertical business services
and home users.
End-to-end IP-based packet networking is the basis for true FMC network construction and provides
fast service routing and switching capabilities. Network operators use IP ports to connect 5G RAN
eNodeBs (base stations) with 10G or 25G interfaces to support 50G or 100G per ring and direct
traffic to super-fast heavy-duty core routers via cloud metro aggregations. For edge computing and
latency-sensitive applications, many use-case service centers will be near the edge and used in cloud
metro for quick response time. An excellent example of such a service is an edge-distributed content
delivery network (CDN). Segment routing removes the need for resource reservation protocol-traffic
engineering. Moreover, the hardware and software of existing brownfield deployment routers
require updates to support soft and hard slicing for many time-sensitive digital services. An all-
optical network with smart protocols is a requirement for the gigabit society.

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 15

The FDI 2022: Key results

FDI 2022 methodology
Due to the importance of fiber investment and its impact on global development, Omdia has created
a fiber benchmark known as the Fiber Development Index. Unlike other benchmarks that only track
a single development metric such as coverage or household penetration, the Fiber Development
Index aims to capture all elements of fiber network investment: overall fiber access coverage, fiber
to the home (FTTH) penetration, fiber to the business (FTTBusiness) penetration, mobile fiber
backhaul, and advanced fiber WDM core technology.
Additionally, the index then aims to measure the outcome of this investment in terms of the
country’s overall broadband experience, measured in terms of median download and upload speeds,
as well as median network latency and jitter (see Figure 8).

Figure 8: The Fiber Development Index

Source: Omdia

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 16

Improvements to the FDI: 2022

The Fiber Development Index has been further developed in 2022 to enhance three of the existing
metrics and add two new experience-related metrics on latency and jitter.
⚫ New WDM density metric. In previous versions, the Fiber Development Index had a “fiber
density” metric that measured the level of optical-fiber infrastructure deployed per
household in a country. In the 2022 version, this metric has been changed to measure the
level of advanced WDM equipment installed on a per-household basis, to better measure
the migration from basic fiber to advanced fiber technology. Please note that as WDM
density metric data is not available for 2020 and 2021, no scores for those years have been
included in the index.
⚫ Change from mean to median speeds. In this year’s index, Omdia is delighted to announce a
new partnership with Ookla. In previous versions of the index, Omdia used its own
estimated average download and upload broadband speeds. In the 2022 iteration, the index
uses measured median speeds experienced by the end user based on Ookla’s Speedtest
data. This upgrade brings three clear benefits:

– Speed metrics are based on end-user measurement data.

– The change to median speed data provides a more realistic view of the speed the average user
receives in each market. Please note this is based on the speed the customer receives on the end
device and includes the home Wi-Fi network.

– An up-to-date view of the market is provided by using the latest available data.

⚫ Addition of new median latency and jitter metrics. Further, due to its partnership with
Ookla, Omdia has added two new important metrics on latency and jitter. Latency and jitter
are essential metrics for a number of broadband applications and are key performance
indicators (KPI) of overall broadband QoE. The addition of latency and jitter to the Fiber
Development Index represents a significant and important upgrade.
Please note that historic 2020 and 2021 data for all QoE metrics has also been included, and all
previous territory scores and rankings have been updated to reflect these changes.

Methodology
To quantify the level of investment in each segment, Omdia has used a selection of metrics as
outlined and defined in Table 1.

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 17

Table 1: Individual metrics used in the Fiber Development Index

Group Metric Definition Importance

Coverage FTTP coverage The total number of residential and Represents the current potential of the
business premises covered by the fiber-access network. A limited coverage
optical-fiber network. will mean that only a small selection of
households and businesses can gain
access to the full benefits of a fiber
network.

WDM density The total WDM port shipments Fiber throughout the network supports
over 100Gbps over the past five the necessary quality of experience and
years, divided by the number of reliability that broadband services need.
households. Therefore, a more advanced core fiber
network drives greater reliability and
performance for broadband networks.

Penetration FTTH The number of FTTH subscriptions FTTH household penetration represents
penetration divided by the total number of the current take-up of FTTH services. The
households. greater the percentage, the higher the
number of households that can take
advantage of fiber network
characteristics.

FTTBusiness The number of FTTBusiness FTTBusiness penetration represents the

penetration subscriptions divided by the total current take-up of FTTBusiness services.
number of business premises. The greater the take-up, the more
businesses will take advantage of
FTTBusiness services, enabling a more
efficient and more dynamic enterprise.

Mobile cell site The percentage of total mobile cell Mobile cell sites need high-speed and
fiber penetration sites that are fiber-connected. high-quality backhaul capabilities to
optimize mobile-access performance. A
high FTTSite penetration will therefore
mean a more optimized mobile data
network.

Experience Download speed The median end-user download Advanced fiber networks can deliver very
speed in Mbps. high-speed broadband services. Although
not the only important network metric,
speed is essential for delivering
bandwidth-hungry applications such as 8K
video in a quality fashion.

Upload speed The median end-user uplink speed Unlike most other access network
in Mbps. technologies, fiber networks can also offer
symmetrical services. Although historically
deemed more suitable for business,
symmetrical services are becoming
increasingly important in the residential
market.

Latency The median end-user latency in ms. Latency is the response time between an
input and an outcome. This is particularly

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 18

important in applications such as online

gaming but can affect most online
activities.

Jitter The median end-user jitter in ms. Low jitter is important for streaming
services such as video streaming, online
gaming, and video conferencing.

Source: Omdia

Index ranking methodology

The index aims to combine the individual metrics outlined in Table 1 of this report into a single
benchmark measure following a five-step process.

Step 1: Data collection and analysis

For each metric, various datasets were used to gather as accurate information as possible for each
country. Sources include
⚫ National regulators
⚫ National broadband operators
⚫ Omdia’s own databases and market forecasts
⚫ Ookla’s Speedtest data
Where data does not yet exist for a metric in a particular country, estimates were made based on
other relevant market information.

Step 2: Data normalization

The data for each metric was then normalized to offer the same unit of measurement and scale
before generating a single overall measure. This is a vital step as many of the datasets can be
expressed in different ways—perhaps a percentage or some other metric such as Mbps or km per
household. Normalizing the metrics transforms these different measures into a standard scale—in
this case, 0–100.
Datasets expressed in a percentage were directly converted into a score out of 100. For other
metrics, calculations were based on a reference measure—that is, the ideal goal or using the top
country as the reference if the objective is open ended. It is important to note that in such cases, the
goals or calculation methods are likely to change as markets develop over time.

Step 4: Weighting and index calculation

In each case, the metric and metric group (see Table 2) are weighted to apply differential levels of
importance for the final index calculations. For the FDI 2022, the weighting has been set as per Table
2 to reflect the current importance of continued fiber rollout investment.

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 19

In the FDI 2022:

⚫ Within coverage, FTTP coverage is weighted over WDM density as it is still vitally important
in the majority of cases that territories continue to push toward 100% coverage. As more
territories reach this goal, it is expected that the weighting will shift more toward
investments in WDM so that territories can continue to move toward more advanced fiber
core capabilities.
⚫ In penetration, FTTH and FTTBusiness penetration are slightly weighted over mobile cell site
fiber penetration to favor territories that have strategies to push fiber further in the access
network over those that have more of a 5G strategy focus.
⚫ In the broadband experience section, download speed remains the highest-weighted metric,
as this continues to be the most important characteristic for many of today’s applications.
This is then followed by latency, upload speed, and finally jitter. As the demands of future
applications change, these weightings will be updated accordingly.

Table 2: Metric weightings, FDI 2022

Group Group weighting Metric Metric
weighting within
group

Coverage 33% FTTP coverage 60%

WDM density 40%

Penetration 33% FTTH 35%

penetration

FTTBusiness 35%
penetration

Mobile cell site 30%

fiber penetration

Experience 33% Downlink speed 40%

Uplink speed 20%

Latency 30%

Jitter 10%

Source: Omdia

The final index measure was calculated as follows: the group score was created by summing the
metrics in that group, multiplying these totals by their weightings, and then summing the group
scores multiplied by their weightings.

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 20

Step 5: Sensitivity analysis

Finally, sensitivity analysis was carried out to investigate the robustness of the overall index result.
To this end, different methods were used to calculate the individual metric scores and the global
measure to estimate the general impact on the index results. Such an approach is essential, as data
sources can vary from country to country and can often change as their processes are reviewed or
local definitions change.

Fiber Development Index clusters

The Fiber Development Index covers 88 territories of varying sizes, demographic and geographical
profiles, and levels of broadband development. Due to these widely differing characteristics, it
makes it difficult to directly compare them; in Omdia’s opinion, comparison would only lead to
unfair and unhelpful conclusions and recommendations.
Therefore, to compare individual results, the Fiber Development Index splits territories into three
different country clusters:
⚫ Cluster 1: Countries with highly developed fiber-based broadband networks
⚫ Cluster 2: Developed broadband countries that are moving toward greater fiber broadband
adoption
⚫ Cluster 3: Emerging broadband countries that have a low level of broadband household
penetration

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 21

Figure 9: Fiber development clusters enable more focused recommendations

Source: Omdia

In terms of future development, countries or territories in Cluster 2 can only move from left to right
(see Figure 9) over time as they continue to replace legacy technologies with fiber-based ones.
However, Cluster 3 countries can move up by investing in alternative technologies first (fixed
wireless technologies, for example) and then move toward greater fiber access over time, or more in
a diagonal direction where fiber investment goes hand in hand with broadband development.

FDI 2022 ranking results

Singapore continues to lead Omdia’s Fiber Development Index, and if anything, it has stretched its
lead over all other territories in Cluster 1, with maximum scores in seven out of the nine metric
categories. Within the entire index, Chile is the biggest mover in the rankings, increasing an
impressive 15 places since 2021, and is now the leading Latin American territory. The UAE continues
to be the leading Middle Eastern country, in fourth place overall, although it has dropped one place
in 2022 to China. Romania is the leading European country, closely followed by Spain, which jumped
one place in this index; however, Sweden (the previous European leader) has dropped five places to

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 22

12th overall. The US continues to be the leading North American territory, in 25th place, with South
Africa the leading African nation in 64th place (see Figure 10).

Figure 10: Fiber Development Index 2022 ranking

Source: Omdia

Cluster 1 movers and shakers

Singapore continues to not only remain in the Fiber Development Index’s top spot but to extend its
lead as the territory continues its path toward a gigabit society. China has also continued to expand
its fiber capabilities, overtaking the UAE to move into third position and closing in fast on South
Korea in second place. The remaining Cluster 1 territories have seen no further movement in this
update (see Figure 11).

© 2022 Omdia. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 23

Figure 11: Cluster 1 scores and changes in the Fiber Development Index ranking

Rank Country/territory Rank change 2021–22 2020 index score 2021 index score 2022 index score Cluster
1 Singapore 0 85 86 98 Cluster 1
2 South Korea 0 74 72 79 Cluster 1
3 China 1 69 69 78 Cluster 1
4 UAE -1 69 71 77 Cluster 1
5 Qatar 0 68 69 76 Cluster 1
6 Japan 0 60 65 75 Cluster 1
© 2022 Omdia

Source: Omdia

Cluster 2 movers and shakers

Within Cluster 2, there is significant movement in the rankings as territories continue to evolve to
fiber-based broadband networks. New Zealand, which has seen a significant expansion in fiber
coverage in recent years due to its Ultra-fast Broadband Program, has entered the top 10 for the
first time as FTTH and FTTBusiness penetration continue to increase, in turn leading to growth in
broadband quality metrics such as download and upload speeds.
However, the biggest mover is Chile, rising 15 places to 13th position. Driven by a mix of public funds
as part of the country’s National Fiber Optic project and private investment, Chile has seen a rapid
increase in FTTP coverage (from 29% back in 2020 to 64% in 2022), which in turn has led to FTTH
penetration more than doubling and also, therefore, a significant improvement in overall broadband
experience. Other countries that have seen big improvements in their ranking include the US,
Canada, the Netherlands, and Ecuador.
It is also worth noting some of the territories in this Cluster that had taken an early leading position
in previous rankings, such as Sweden, Portugal, and Norway, but are now starting to slip down the
index (see Figure 12). This is often due to an early investment in FTTP coverage, followed by a slower
move to advanced broadband technologies and FTTP penetration. This then leads to a stall in the
overall broadband experience improvement compared to other territories. This shows how vital it is
that after an initial investment in fiber access infrastructure, territories continue to invest in the core
of the network and push customer penetration if they are to evolve to gigabit societies.

© 2022 Omdia. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 24

Figure 12: Cluster 2 scores and changes in the Fiber Development Index ranking

Rank Country/territory Rank change 2021–22 2020 index score 2021 index score 2022 index score Cluster
7 Thailand 1 52 57 68 Cluster 2
8 Romania 1 54 56 68 Cluster 2
9 Spain 1 55 55 66 Cluster 2
10 New Zealand 5 50 52 66 Cluster 2
11 Denmark 0 50 54 66 Cluster 2
12 Sweden -5 59 58 65 Cluster 2
13 Chile 15 26 39 65 Cluster 2
14 Portugal -2 51 54 63 Cluster 2
15 Norway -1 52 53 62 Cluster 2
16 Uruguay 2 48 48 61 Cluster 2
17 Russia -4 52 53 58 Cluster 2
18 Vietnam -2 46 50 57 Cluster 2
19 Brunei 5 41 45 56 Cluster 2
20 Saudi Arabia 3 44 45 55 Cluster 2
21 France 5 34 41 55 Cluster 2
22 Luxembourg -5 45 49 55 Cluster 2
23 Lithuania -1 46 46 55 Cluster 2
24 Belarus -4 45 47 53 Cluster 2
25 US 6 37 38 53 Cluster 2
26 Switzerland -1 41 41 52 Cluster 2
27 Bahrain -6 39 46 51 Cluster 2
28 Bulgaria -9 45 47 50 Cluster 2
29 Hungary 5 35 37 49 Cluster 2
30 Canada 6 36 37 48 Cluster 2
31 Netherlands 6 35 36 47 Cluster 2
32 Slovenia -3 36 39 46 Cluster 2
33 Malaysia 2 36 37 46 Cluster 2
34 Kuwait 4 28 35 45 Cluster 2
35 Finland -2 35 38 44 Cluster 2
36 Ukraine -9 40 40 44 Cluster 2
37 Estonia -7 36 39 43 Cluster 2
38 Oman 3 25 31 43 Cluster 2
39 Brazil 5 25 31 42 Cluster 2
40 Israel -1 30 34 42 Cluster 2

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 25

41 Poland -1 29 34 41 Cluster 2
42 Slovakia 0 29 31 41 Cluster 2
43 Ireland 0 28 31 40 Cluster 2
44 Kazakhstan -12 34 38 39 Cluster 2
45 Jordan 0 26 31 38 Cluster 2
46 Philippines 0 21 30 37 Cluster 2
47 Australia 1 27 28 35 Cluster 2
48 Turkey -1 26 28 34 Cluster 2
49 Italy 1 23 25 33 Cluster 2
50 Mexico 1 22 25 33 Cluster 2
51 Austria 2 20 23 29 Cluster 2
52 Croatia 4 20 22 28 Cluster 2
53 Argentina 4 18 21 27 Cluster 2
54 Czech Republic -5 26 27 27 Cluster 2
55 UK 4 19 21 27 Cluster 2
56 Germany -2 20 22 27 Cluster 2
57 Belgium -2 22 22 27 Cluster 2
59 Ecuador 8 14 17 26 Cluster 2
60 Indonesia -8 21 23 26 Cluster 2
62 Peru -4 19 21 26 Cluster 2
63 Bolivia -3 17 21 25 Cluster 2
64 South Africa -2 18 20 24 Cluster 2
65 Colombia 3 14 17 24 Cluster 2
66 India -1 17 19 21 Cluster 2
71 Egypt 2 7 10 14 Cluster 2
79 Algeria 2 6 7 7 Cluster 2
80 Botswana 0 6 7 7 Cluster 2
© 2022 Omdia

Source: Omdia

Cluster 3 movers and shakers

Cluster 3 is made up of emerging broadband markets where FTTP coverage is typically less than 10%.
Indonesia and Paraguay are two exceptions: both have relatively high FTTP coverage of 46% and
27%, respectively. However, both territories have still to turn that coverage into a high level of fiber
penetration—something they should both now focus on.
Many of the other territories in this cluster, such as Nigeria, for example, are only now starting to
see early shoots of FTTP investment. Others, such as Uganda and Morocco, have already seen some
increase in FTTP penetration, which has led to increased scores around broadband experience, but
FTTP coverage still remains very low (see Figure 13). All these territories must continue to look for
ways to increase fiber coverage as they try and move toward fiber-first broadband nations.

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 26

Figure 13: Cluster 3 scores and changes in the Fiber Development Index ranking
Rank Country/territory Rank change 2021–22 2020 index score 2021 index score 2022 index score Cluster
58 Paraguay 5 16 19 27 Cluster 3
61 Serbia 0 19 20 26 Cluster 3
67 Cambodia -3 18 19 20 Cluster 3
68 Greece 2 13 14 19 Cluster 3
69 Bangladesh 0 15 16 18 Cluster 3
70 Myanmar -4 18 18 16 Cluster 3
72 Ivory Coast -1 6 12 14 Cluster 3
73 Pakistan 2 7 8 13 Cluster 3
74 Ghana -2 11 11 11 Cluster 3
75 Kenya 1 8 7 10 Cluster 3
76 Namibia -2 7 8 9 Cluster 3
77 Morocco 1 6 7 9 Cluster 3
78 Uganda 5 5 6 9 Cluster 3
81 Lebanon -4 6 7 7 Cluster 3
82 Tunisia -3 7 7 7 Cluster 3
83 Tanzania -1 8 6 7 Cluster 3
84 Venezuela 1 5 5 6 Cluster 3
85 Nigeria -1 4 6 6 Cluster 3
86 Ethiopia 1 4 3 6 Cluster 3
87 Cameroon -1 7 4 5 Cluster 3
88 Democratic Republic of the Congo 0 3 3 3 Cluster 3
© 2022 Omdia

Source: Omdia

© 2022 Omdia. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 27

Legislation best practice

Robust regulatory policies facilitate fiber
deployment, uptake, and QoE
One of the most cited barriers in fiber rollouts is either the lack or inefficiency of regulation. To
promote fiber development, governments must adopt concrete legislation that targets inefficiencies
such as insufficient access to existing telecoms and public infrastructures, improves rights of way,
and promotes investment and partnership agreements
Most countries in the FDI have a national broadband agenda in place; however, it is not enough to
publish a national broadband strategy without also ensuring its implementation. Successful
countries follow through on their broadband initiatives, creating sufficient supporting funding and
tracking progress of reaching the goals set out in the broadband plans, while taking advantage of
new technologies and innovations that may be better suited to achieve these targets. Generally,
there tends to be a significant lag between a national broadband strategy’s introduction and the
tangible results being noticeable in the field. However, a review of select markets that have seen
significant improvements in fiber uptake, median download speeds, and regulatory policies
implemented over the last couple of years clearly shows a positive impact on fiber development in
these countries (see Figure 14).
Some countries, such as France or the UK, have only recently recognized the importance of fiber in
their national broadband strategy and have since made significant and rapid progress in fiber
deployment. In 2021, the UK government launched a £5bn government infrastructure project called
“Project Gigabit,” aimed at getting gigabit broadband access to more than one million hard-to-reach
homes and businesses. In France, the 2017 amendment to the original 2013 ultra-fast broadband
plan (Plan Très Haut Débit) gave preference to fiber over other access technologies. In Brazil, a 2017
revamped version of the national broadband plan originally drafted in 2010 also seeks to expand
fiber-based network throughout the country. The strategy passed a bill modifying the country’s
telecom legislation, unfroze resources from the telecom universalization fund, and modified fines-
for-investments deals between telecom regulator Anatel and telecom operators. The approach has
led to substantial improvements in both fiber access and quality of experience for consumers.
In other countries, additional funding and amendments to existing strategies were necessary to
boost broadband network deployments in hard-to-reach areas. In New Zealand and Canada, funding
packages adopted in 2017 and 2018, respectively, have led to fiber-network expansions. In Oman,
there was a delay between strategy adoption and securing sufficient funding. Oman’s government
adopted its National Broadband Strategy in 2013 but did not receive financing for its fiber network
rollout from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) until 2017. A second financing extension
from the AIIB was awarded in 2021. Only after the government was able to secure this investment
has the country seen a substantial increase in fiber deployment and uptake.

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 28

Focusing on cooperation among network operators is an essential part of successful gigabit

broadband strategy, as recognized by the Saudi Open Access Initiative adopted in 2020. All six
telecommunications companies entered into the Open Access agreement, guaranteeing the
provision of broadband services through any subscriber-selected service provider, independent of
infrastructure ownership.

Figure 14: National broadband plans and initiatives and progress in FDI metrics for select countries

Source: Omdia, Ookla

Broadband policy examples

China
China continues to be one of the most ambitious countries when it comes to connectivity targets,
especially considering the size of the country and scale of the population. The country now sits in
third position in the Fiber Development Index, having witnessed the highest increase in its FDI score
out of the top 10 countries.
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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 29

The State Council launched its national broadband strategy—Broadband China—in 2013. Initially the
increasing ratio of FTTH users was slow. In 2014, to push forward with the fiber access network
construction, the MIIT together with the MHURD made a joint announcement about the new
national standards for fiber preinstallation and sharing with operators in new buildings. The strategy
created a clear requirement for fiber cabling and installation engineering and removed obstacles
from property management organizations. According to the new standards, before new buildings
receive a sales permit, the access fibers to every household and the rooms for communication
device deployment must be completed and have passed the acceptance tests. All engineering costs
should be covered by building developers. With the strong support from the government, the fiber
access ratio among all broadband users increased significantly from 2015. By the end of 2021, 99%
of homes in China had access to FTTH technology, and FTTH penetration sat at 85%.
Between 2016 and 2018, the MIIT and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)
led a three-year action plan for the construction of communications infrastructure, with a budget of
CNY1,200bn ($181bn). The plan aimed to support the development of high-speed fiber optics, the
construction of advanced mobile broadband systems, and global network facilities. To execute this
plan, the government focused on 92 selected infrastructure projects, with a total investment budget
of CNY902.2bn ($136.3bn). Prioritizing certain projects allowed the government to focus on the
areas most in need.
In 2019, the MIIT then proposed a “dual-gigabit acceleration, same speed for same network” plan to
promote fixed-broadband gigabit applications in order to keep pace with bandwidth-hungry
services. This involves utilizing 10G Passive Optical Network (PON) technology to create a dual
gigabit broadband service that features both wired and wireless gigabit broadband.
There is currently no regulation imposing a broadband USO across the entire country. However, the
MIIT supports the upgrade of fiber broadband in 130,000 administrative villages, including 43,000
poor villages. By November 2018, 96% of administrative villages achieved optical-fiber access, and
the country expanded broadband infrastructure to 94% of underserved villages. This was ahead of
schedule according to the country’s broadband strategy, which required operators to expand
broadband infrastructure to 98% of underserved villages by 2020.
In 2021, China shifted its focus from broadening the coverage of the fiber network to increasing the
speed and improving the quality of broadband services. In March 2021, the MIIT released a plan to
expand the gigabit network to cover 200 million people by the end of the year and 400 million by the
end of 2023. The government targeted 10 million gigabit users by the end of 2021—a goal it
smashed, with more than 34 million 1Gbps users at the end of 2021 and just under 46 million by
March 2022. As of the same date, 93% of broadband users had access to speeds of 100Mbps, and as
of June 2022, China had the third-fastest median broadband speed in the FDI.

EU
The European Union, through its European Commission (EC) governing body, sets out policies to
encourage digital opportunities and enhance Europe’s leading position in the digital economy. In
May 2015, the Digital Single Market (DSM) strategy was adopted to eliminate online barriers. These
barriers hamper free movement of goods and services online and mean that businesses,
governments, and individuals cannot fully benefit from digital tools that would be available to them
but that are currently locked in 27 different regulatory environments.
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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 30

The EC estimates that once completed, the DSM could create up to €415bn per year and generate
hundreds of thousands of new jobs. The DSM strategy is based on three pillars:
• Access: better access for consumers and businesses to digital goods and services across Europe

• Environment: creating the right conditions and a level playing field for digital networks and innovative
services to flourish

• Economy and society: maximizing the growth potential of the digital economy

However, for consumers, businesses, and governments to fully benefit from the provisions of the
DSM, it is essential that access to digital infrastructure is ensured by facilitating rollout of reliable,
high-speed broadband networks across Europe. In September 2016, the EC introduced a new set of
competitive Gigabit Society connectivity targets to be achieved by 2025. These targets include:
• All main socioeconomic drivers, such as schools, transport hubs, and main public service providers, as
well as digitally intensive enterprises will have gigabit connectivity.

• All urban areas and all major terrestrial transport paths will have uninterrupted 5G coverage.

• All European households, rural or urban, will have access to internet connectivity offering a download
speed of at least 100Mbps, upgradable to gigabit speed.

Moreover, the Digital Compass communication adopted in March 2021 set out ambitious “Digital
Decade” 2030 targets, which further highlight gigabit connectivity for everyone and 5G coverage
everywhere by 2030. In September 2021, the “Path to the Digital Decade” proposal then identified
and confirmed the importance of investment-friendly regulatory and policy frameworks, which
would facilitate collaboration between national and EU-level policies and foster investment to
achieve the Digital Decade 2030 targets. This framework includes stipulations for multi-country
projects under the auspices of the newly established European Digital Infrastructure Consortium
(EDIC). Under the EDIC procedure, at least three member states can present large-scale projects that
facilitate the digital transformation targets and channel coordinated investments between the EU,
the participating member states and, where applicable, other public or private stakeholders.
In addition to its digital strategies, the EC also sets forth concrete policies focused on broadband
infrastructure deployment. In 2014, the EU established the “Broadband Cost Reduction Directive,”
which aimed to “facilitate and incentivize the rollout of high-speed electronic communication
networks.” The regulation promoted measures for facilitating the joint use of existing physical
infrastructure and more efficient deployment of new physical infrastructure at a lower cost. The EU
member states implemented the directive into their national rules. However, in 2018, the EC
reviewed the directive’s implementation and found problems related to its efficiency and
consistency.
In 2020, the EC launched a further review and created the European Electronic Communications
Code to improve the regulatory conditions to incentivize private investment and deploy and take up
high-speed broadband networks. The European Electronic Communications Code also addressed the
timely and investment-friendly access to the 5G spectrum. The EU instructed member states to
transpose and apply the code’s provision by December 21, 2020.

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 31

In September 2020, the EC adopted a recommendation calling for all member states to develop and
agree on a common Union toolbox of best practices to foster connectivity. In terms of reducing
network deployment costs, the best practices are as follows:

• Streamlining permit-granting procedures for civil works

• Improving transparency and reinforcing the capabilities of the single information point

• Expanding the right of access to existing physical infrastructures controlled by public sector
bodies

• Improving the effectiveness and efficacy of the dispute-resolution mechanism

• Reducing the environmental footprint of networks

• Performing environmental impact assessments and taking account of the results

As a result of the unified digital strategies and regulations, there has been great improvement in
fiber availability and take-up across the EU, with Romania and Spain ranked in the top 10
countries/territories in Omdia’s FDI and Denmark, Sweden, and Portugal in the top 15. However,
there remain large differences among the EU member states in terms of fiber rollout, and
penetration and achieving universal gigabit connectivity will be challenging in some markets.

Thailand
With 32% of the country’s population still accessing the internet only through mobile networks and
with just 56% fixed-broadband household penetration, Thailand could still be thought of as a largely
“mobile-first” country. However, 63% of those connected households are connected via FTTH
technology, and so where broadband is available, the QoE is very high. Therefore, Thailand already
sits in seventh place in the Fiber Development Index. The challenge for the Thai government now,
therefore, is to continue to expand the fiber coverage and encourage further take-up.
The aim of the original Thai national broadband plan was to cover 95% of the population with its
fixed-broadband network by 2020, but it missed this target by some margin. Where the country has
been successful is in its fiber-first broadband strategy, achieving FTTP coverage of 56% at the end of
2021.
Fiber is seen by the Thai government as a key investment to drive economic growth and to make
Thailand an “ASEAN digital hub.” In November 2021, NBTC announced a partnership with Huawei at
an event—Giga Thailand: Broadband Forum—to accelerate fixed-broadband coverage and upgrade
to gigabit-speed standards.
Under new policies set out by the Thailand Digital Economy and Society Development Plan from
MDES (MDES Action Plan 2018–22, and ONDE Action Plan 2022–27), the Thai government developed
five key targets related to the development of fixed-broadband networks:
⚫ Target 1: By 2022, the country’s fixed-broadband network is expected to be expanded to all
villages and by 2027, to 100% of Thai households. This includes expanding fixed-broadband
© 2022 Omdia. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 32

coverage to cover all households, particularly those in rural areas, unattractive investment
areas, and private areas (networks in private areas such as residential buildings, office
buildings, housing estates, and industrial parks).
⚫ Target 2: By 2022, every village will have access to fixed-broadband speeds greater than
100Mbps, and by 2027, speeds of at least 1Gbps will be available in the municipality,
economic zone, public utility, and learning centers. Currently, the mean average download
speed of fixed-broadband connections in urban areas is just under 2Gbps, but there are still
many households on copper and coaxial cables. To meet the speed requirement, therefore,
the Thai government is recommending that all infrastructure in urban areas be upgraded to
fiber-optic networks.
⚫ Target 3: By 2022, the target is to increase household fixed-broadband penetration to more
than 70% and to more than 80% by 2027. FTTH penetration should also be increased to 50%
of households by 2022 and to 75% by 2027.
⚫ Target 4: By 2022, the goal is to reduce the price of fixed broadband to 2.5% of GNI per
capita and to less than 1% by 2027. To achieve the goal of 1% of GNI per capita by 2027,
fixed-broadband service prices must be reduced by 1.8% of GNI per capita or approximately
281THB per month. As a result, the target monthly fee for fixed broadband is around
263THB.
⚫ Target 5: By 2027, the digital economy contribution level is targeted to be 25% of the Thai
GDP, up from 17% in 2017. To accomplish this goal, the Thai government is focused on
increasing the investment value from digital and e-commerce sectors.

Malaysia
In 2018, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) carried out a review
of its national broadband strategy and found a number of performance challenges that were holding
back the country’s broadband development. Although at that time broadband services were
available to 92% of the population in populated areas, rural areas were still less well served. It also
found that even where available, the quality of the broadband infrastructure could also be low,
while prices were still relatively high.
The organization, therefore, set out its “National Fiberisation and Connectivity Plan (NFCP) 2019-
2023,” with the specific aim of
⚫ Addressing the issues that hinder the availability of affordable and high-quality broadband
connectivity
⚫ Supporting the needs of the country as it evolves while harnessing the opportunities offered
by new digital services and technologies
⚫ Providing a clear strategic direction for initiatives that support the digital economy and the
adoption of future technology
To meet these aims, the MCMC set out a new fiber-first national broadband plan with the following
targets:
⚫ Entry-level broadband packages equivalent to 1% of GNI by 2020
© 2022 Omdia. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 33

⚫ Gigabit broadband services available in industrial areas by 2020 and all state capitals by 2023
⚫ 100% availability of a minimum 500Mbps to premises in state capitals and selected high-
impact areas and 20% availability for premises in suburban and rural areas with speeds up to
500Mbps by 2022
⚫ The fiber network to pass 70% of schools, hospitals, libraries, police stations, and post offices
by 2022
⚫ An average speed of 30Mbps in 98% of populated areas by 2023
The results of these initiatives are that FTTP coverage is now 53% (up from 45% in 2020) and FTTH
penetration is 40%. Overall broadband speeds, however, are still quite low, and the government
should look to policies that will encourage greater investment in the fiber core to enable more
advanced broadband services and applications in the future.

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 34

Best practice for fiber

development and key tools to
enable faster deployment
Operators looking to deploy fiber infrastructure face many challenges, some of which require
intervention from regulators and governments to overcome them. In a survey by the World Broadband
Association of 75 broadband operator senior executives, cost of deployment—as perhaps to be
expected—was highlighted as the number one perceived challenge, closely followed by a lack of
information on the location and availability of key infrastructure, as well as easy access to that
infrastructure (see Figure 15).
Figure 15: Cost of deployment is not the only hurdle when deploying full-fiber networks

© 2022 Omdia. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 35

Source: Omdia and Thought Leadership Service Provider Survey, World Broadband Association, n = 75

When asked about areas where governments/regulators could help, the survey found that it is less
about financial assistance (although that will still be necessary in most territories to connect the really
hard-to-reach customers) and more about providing greater flexibility and changing regulations where
possible to make fiber investment easier (see Figure 16). Legislation to make it easier to locate and gain
access to key infrastructure such as ducts, poles, and so on would also help with new infrastructure
deployment. More complex legislation should also consider non-telecom infrastructure, such as access
to infrastructure deployed for other utility purposes, to gain maximum efficiencies.

Figure 16: Financial support is not the only help governments can provide

Source: Omdia and Thought Leadership Service Provider Survey, World Broadband Association, n = 75

Therefore, regulation and public policy have a key role to play in removing any barriers, and a better-
connected world can only emerge if there is collaboration between governments, regulators, and
operators to encourage investment. While governments and regulators can set clear connectivity
targets and lower the financial and regulatory barriers to broadband access, private investment must
also be fostered and conditions for good levels of competition must be set.
There are several regulatory policies that are seen as best practice for encouraging the deployment of
very high-capacity networks, such as:
⚫ Facilitating deployment through municipality approvals, using existing resources (government
buildings, streetlights, ducts etc.,) and sharing infrastructure/facilities.

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 36

⚫ Introducing flexibility in partnership arrangements such as allowing agreements between

players/co-financing/collaborative models/public-private partnerships/innovative partnerships.
⚫ Providing financial assistance through investment support, incentives, and subsidies (e.g.,
universal service funds).
⚫ Implementing regulatory flexibility, including the removal of outdated or nonessential
regulations.
⚫ Improving access to telecoms facilities and physical infrastructure; improving procedures for
rights of way and accessing public infrastructure, as well as broadband mapping.
⚫ Setting coverage/minimum speed targets through a national broadband plan or universal
service obligation.

Financing tools
The pandemic has highlighted the remaining holes in broadband maps and reinforced the need to
close the digital divide and designate networks as critical infrastructure. So, ubiquitous broadband
access is a key element in any country’s digital agenda. High-speed network rollout is often
commercially viable only in densely populated areas; therefore, nationwide deployment will
normally require some form of government funding. The key challenge is ensuring widespread
broadband rollout is funded while also being fiscally sustainable and still preserving private
incentives to invest. This challenge will grow in the coming years when economically viable areas are
covered, but the gap in rural regions with scattered populations widens.
Various forms of financing are being used to ensure that these areas are not left behind—for
example, publicly built networks (e.g., Australia and Argentina); publicly built municipal networks
(e.g., Sweden and Germany); public-private partnerships (PPPs) (e.g., Mexico and Peru);
direct/indirect subsidies (e.g., the EU); physical resources access, that is ducts, poles, and land access
(e.g., Mexico and Sweden); and regulatory coverage or service obligations (e.g., Chile and Brazil).
There is no single right answer, but at the very least, governments should get more involved in
guaranteeing broadband connectivity for all citizens. However, it is also crucial to adopt the most
suitable investment model to reflect national circumstances. This doesn’t necessarily involve a state-
owned company that is controlled and financed by the government—public-private partnerships or
private-led deployment with government incentives could be more relevant in some cases.
Regardless of the model, best practice dictates that any state intervention must limit the risk of
crowding out or replacing private investments, altering commercial investment incentives, or
distorting competition.

National broadband plan targets and universal

service obligations
To varying degrees of detail, most countries around the world have outlined some form of national
broadband plan. For the less economically developed nations, these plans should focus on improving
broadband coverage before looking to expand high-speed networks such as fiber. Meanwhile, the
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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 37

more progressive countries should focus on developing national digital strategies. Developing
comprehensive national digital strategies that ensure citizens can use connectivity in a
transformative way to bring about innovation and growth, rather than focusing purely on broadband
infrastructure deployment, will be crucial in building the case for fiber deployment and encouraging
further investment.
National broadband plans aim to only guarantee infrastructure availability and deployment and have
proven insufficient on their own since the targets of many countries have not been achieved, so gaps
are widening. Governments that have seen the most success have been those that proactively
prioritize developing their own unique, integrated, and comprehensive national digital strategy for
both broadband infrastructure and how to get citizens to use it effectively. Combining these
strategies to reflect each country’s resources and capabilities maximizes the benefits of digital
transformation for innovation, growth, and social prosperity. Within the best digital strategies,
governments still tend to set coverage objectives in an effort to ensure that connectivity continues
to improve on an ongoing basis. Leaders agree that unlocking the benefits of ongoing digital
transformation means addressing the challenges this creates, particularly for jobs, skills, and trust. A
few advanced countries have already defined their national digital strategy, but many more are
expected to do so in the coming years.
There are many examples of governments around the world that have already moved from pure
national broadband infrastructure deployment plans to comprehensive national digital strategies.
The UK, for example, launched its national digital strategy in 2017. The strategy looks at
connectivity, digital skills and inclusion, development of digital sectors, helping businesses go digital,
cybersecurity, digital government, and unlocking the power of data. Meanwhile, Singapore’s
Infocomm Media 2025 plan has three main pillars: capitalize on big data and analytics, deepen the
converged industry ecosystem, and better connect people. The first phase, involving extending
connectivity through the deployment of above-ground boxes and technologies from a
heterogeneous network (HetNet), was completed at the end of 2015. The other two phases involve
introducing real-time data collected through a mesh of sensors nationwide.
In addition to introducing a national broadband plan and digital strategy, many regulators look to
implement a universal service obligation (USO) to ensure that basic telecoms services are available
at an affordable price to all households and businesses. For many countries, functional internet
access has been included in universal service obligations for some time. However, this has usually
been defined as basic dial-up speeds. But as demand for greater data volumes increases and with
improvements in average connection speeds, there is an argument for introducing a broadband USO
that better reflects today’s technological capabilities. However, these are mostly in mature markets,
and usually the broadband speed targets that have been adopted are fairly low, ranging from 1Mbps
to a potential 30Mbps. Smaller countries are generally ahead on this issue, but larger countries are
catching up. Most of the countries where broadband USOs have been introduced are geographically
relatively small. That is hardly surprising since small countries are more easily covered in a
ubiquitous way—for example, Singapore, where an operator faces a USO to install fiber-optic
connections upon request. It is clear that regulators and policymakers cannot rely on market forces
alone to deliver ubiquitous high-speed broadband without some kind of regulatory intervention, but
universal service obligations have not been universally proven to be the best means of achieving this
goal. Rather than explicitly setting universal service obligations to install fiber connections, many

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 38

countries have instead been using the universal service funds as a source of financing to support
one-off investment projects to deploy higher capacity networks.

Copper switch-off rules and regulating fiber

services
As legacy copper networks become harder to maintain, operators around the world are starting to
consider phasing them out, but this generally requires input from regulators. It is important to retire
legacy copper networks so that incumbents do not encounter the unnecessary costs of running two
parallel networks and can free up investment for further fiber deployment. Best practice for
countries heavily reliant on copper commands that migration away from copper does not cause
disruption for consumers. Therefore, some regulators have imposed minimum notice periods to
minimize the effect on the market and ensure the transition is carried out under fair and competitive
terms. This needs to be coupled with the removal of regulation on the incumbent’s copper products
in areas where full fiber is built and the transfer of regulations, including price protections, from
copper to new fiber services during the transition. This would encourage customers to switch over to
the new fiber network, while also protecting them during the transition period and thereby building
the case for more investment in underserved areas. Until the deployment of fiber has been
sufficiently accelerated, it is better for regulators to continue not to regulate full-fiber services. In
Spain, for example, fiber services offering speeds of more than 30Mbps have not been regulated,
and full-fiber investment has been successfully stimulated, with fiber cables being rolled out not only
by the incumbent but also by its rivals.

Infrastructure sharing
Facilities sharing is becoming an increasing focus for regulators as the desire for competition in next-
generation network deployments grows. In markets where there is the perception of market failure,
through lack of attainment of national broadband plan objectives, regulatory intervention in
infrastructure sharing can be beneficial. To encourage private investment in fiber infrastructure,
barriers to entry and the cost of laying fiber need to be addressed, access to ducts and poles must be
simplified, and a stable regulatory environment needs to be maintained. Comprehensive passive
infrastructure regulation has had a significant impact on the deployment of next-generation
networks.
Alternative operators generally attribute high importance to the presence of offers of passive
infrastructure access. Regulatory approaches do vary, though. Those that have seen the greatest
success rely on a clear, simple, and certain regulatory framework and on an effective dispute-
resolution process, as well as on outlined maximum timelines regarding repairs and installations.
Transparency can be assured with the use of online broadband network maps. It is good practice
that the role facilities sharing takes in a given country varies according to the degree that
competitive outcomes are supported by infrastructure-based competition and the level of
intervention perceived to be necessary to achieve investment. Best practice often involves
regulators adopting a combination of symmetric and asymmetric regulation. Symmetric regulation
has been extended in some markets to include utilities and asset owners beyond the
communications industry because there is increasing recognition of the need for investment
© 2022 Omdia. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 39

coordination within the sector and with other infrastructure verticals. Meanwhile, asymmetric
regulation remains a key tool for regulators in recognition of the ownership of bottleneck assets by
incumbent service providers. Spain is a market with considerable asymmetric regulation, as
Telefónica alone is subject to duct and pole access (DPA) obligations. DPA regulation can also be
limited to certain use cases (e.g., allowing access to ducts to support fiber-to-the-x [FTTx]
deployments).
The early adoption of a facilities-sharing policy contributes to improved fiber connectivity
availability. In countries with significant uptake of duct access, this has driven infrastructure-based
competition in next-generation access (NGA) broadband. Requiring incumbents to grant access to
telegraph poles and underground tunnels to all alternative providers makes it quicker and easier for
them to build their own full-fiber networks, which cuts the upfront costs associated with laying fiber
cables by approximately 50%, a considerable incentive for investment.
Access to other civil engineering and rights of way are also vital to rolling out fiber networks.
Ensuring a streamlined approach to permit-granting procedures for civil works is essential, and the
best way of achieving this is to adopt a single information point where operators can access
information and apply for permits for civil works.

In-building networks
The final few meters of a wired-broadband network can often be the most complex part because,
more often than not, it will cross privately owned land or some type of building such as an
apartment block (often referred to as a multi-dwelling unit or MDU). It is one of the advantages of
wireless broadband technologies that they can bypass this requirement and, therefore, greatly
speed up installation.
However, for wired-broadband operators to gain access to the building or to cross private land, they
must have a written agreement (known as a wayleave agreement) from the land or property owner,
which, due to simple logistics, can cause a significant bottleneck to deployment. If not regulated
properly, in-building access agreements in the case of large MDUs can also lead to a form of service
monopoly where residents of that MDU can only access a certain service provider as only that
service provider has access to the building.
To stimulate greater FTTH deployments, therefore, it is vital that national regulations are created
that simplify the wayleave-agreement process and that wholesale agreements are put in place that
provide fair access for all operators looking to access that building.
To accelerate future rollouts, property developers could help by preinstalling fiber infrastructure in
the buildings and local areas. Preinstallation of fiber-optic cables reduces cost and disruption caused
by any future deployments. Therefore, governments should explore schemes that guarantee such
investment as part of the planning process. In France, for example, a preinstallation policy was put in
place back in 2008 as part of its “Law for the Modernization of the Economy” scheme, which
required all new residential developments to be equipped with optical fiber. China has also since
adopted a similar policy. In other countries, such as New Zealand and Singapore, property
developers are not mandated to preinstall fiber, but they can opt to be connected to the fiber
network, making the development more attractive and saving future costs and disruption.

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 40

Appendix

Methodology

The Fiber Development Index is based on data that has been gathered for each individual index metric. There are nine index
metrics in total, split into three key areas:

• Fiber supply: FTTP coverage, advanced WDM density

• Fiber demand: FTTH penetration, FTTBusiness penetration, mobile cell site fiber penetration

• Broadband experience: median download speed, median upload speed, median latency, median jitter

Fiber supply and fiber demand metrics are based on Omdia research and analysis, using independent country-level data
sources (such as the national telecommunications regulatory authority) where possible. All data in these sections are for
January 1, 2022. Where data does not exist, Omdia has provided realistic estimations based on other factors such as leading
service provider data or other related information.

All broadband experience measures are based on Omdia’s analysis of Ookla Speedtest data.

All other research presented in this paper is based on Omdia’s extensive research around broadband and optical-fiber
networks, including market trackers, in-depth market forecasts, and consumer and enterprise surveys.

© 2022 Omdia. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 41

Authors
Michael Philpott, Research Director, Service Provider - Consumer
Alzbeta Fellenbaum, Principle Analyst, Service Provider – Consumer
[email protected]

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 Fiber Development Index Analysis: 2022 42

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