ChannelVision Sept-Oct 2017

In the past year alone, gigabit internet deployments have risen at a rate of 72 percent as tracked by the Gigabit Monitor , bringing access to more than 219 million people worldwide. And, thanks to the increased rate of competition, Gigabit speeds are becoming affordable as well: For instance, new busi- ness customers at Atlantic Broadband can get the service for just less than $200 per month, with a three-year contract. The effect of widespread, affordable top-tier bandwidth would be nothing short of revolutionary for businesses and the channel partners that serve them, enabling digitization strategies and the move to the cloud at rates never before seen. To put the capability into perspective, speeds of 1 Gbps down would enable someone to download a two-hour HD movie in just more than 30 seconds, or send a 250 MB file in 40 seconds. The State of Play According to a September survey from VIAVI, a test and measurement company, the United States currently has gigabit internet available to more people than any other country – 57.5 million consumers, or 18 percent of the populace. The state of California leads the gigabit pack, with more gigabit inter- net availability than any other state. In California, gigabit internet is available to more than 8.5 million consumers. Also, although many of the most popu- lous states make up the top 10 gigabit states, there are some notable surprises. Colorado, with a population of just more than 5.5 million, has gigabit internet available to By Tara Seals Fast and Furious B usinesses of all sizes are moving to cloud-based operations models and placing a premium on high-capacity, high-performance internet connectivity. In turn, operators are starting to answer the call. Gigabit rollouts accelerate, enabling business transformation Zettabytes Channel Vision | September - October, 2017 40

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