For 28% of Australian Consumers, Hybrid Fiber Coax Will Be the Only Fixed Network

How much access platforms have changed, and will change, is illustrated by the Australian National Broadband Network, a wholesale-only next-generation network.
As planned about 28 percent of total locations (about 3.5 million homes) will use the hybrid fiber coax platform used by cable TV operators, not fiber to the home or fiber to the neighborhood or curb.
In many markets, HFC exists as a full functional substitute for the “telecom” network.


Ovum researchers estimate there are approximately 150 million cable broadband connections globally, representing 20 percent of the global high speed access market.  
Rarely, if ever, has HFC been the “ubiquitous” and primary communications network.


For 28 percent of Australian residential locations, HFC will be the primary network, with no rival telecom network available.


In recent tests, layer-3 peak speeds speeds at up to 100 Mbps downstream and up to 40 Mbps upstream were recorded.


End user speeds, on average, were about 84 Mbps downstream and 33 Mbps upstream.


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