Gartner says fibre broadband demand higher in US

Demand for fibre optic broadband is greater among US consumers than from customers in western Europe, according to a Gartner analyst.

Ian Keene told Computing that customers in North America are prepared to pay a premium for accessing the fastest possible broadband speeds - a trend that he claimed is not replicated in many European nations.

He said: "In western Europe, people ask what can those speeds do for me?"

Mr Keene's comments come in the wake of criticism from Peter Cochrane, the former chief technology officer at BT, regarding the UK government's plans to boost super-fast broadband connectivity across the country.

Speaking to Computing, he claimed the UK has "not a hope" of achieving the best next-generation broadband network in Europe by the end of 2015.

This is largely down to the fact that the Conservative-led coalition is focusing on the deployment of fibre-to-the-cabinet technology, rather than faster fibre-to-the-home services, Mr Cochrane said.