Faster broadband demands more bandwidth

When it comes to broadband, a high fibre diet seems to increase customers' appetite for bandwidth, a new report has found.

The study, by market development organisation the FTTH Council Europe, compared usage by consumers with FTTH (fibre to the home) with ADSL users across four European countries and found fibre homes currently drive three times more traffic than ADSL households.

Joeri Van Bogaert, president of the FTTH Council Europe, said there is already a "large difference" between ADSL and fibre traffic - pointing out that dedicated mass-market fibre applications are not even available yet.

He said in a statement: "We expect this to increase significantly as fibre adoption continues to increase across Europe and further services are developed with fibre in mind."

Van Bogaert added: "When customers have faster connections they use them more."

The report also found European broadband speeds are rising by an average of more than 50 per cent per year.