Killer applications for fiber to the home networks: market potential, time horizons and user groups

Telecom operators in cooperation with utility companies and public institutions are deploying fiber to the home infrastructure. The roll-out of these networks is justified by the supposed increasing user demand for high-bandwidth applications. Starting from a user-oriented perspective, this paper considers the utility of these networks for future users and explores those killer applications that could convince end-users to migrate to high-bandwidth connections. B y means of an international expert survey, the paper identifies value-added services that benefit from fiber's network potential in terms of high speed, symmetry and low delay