UTOPIA is profiled in the May/June issue of Broadband Communities magazine, which is available now. This issue includes a “Fiber-To-The-Home” (FTTH) Primer with a plethora of facts and insights that illustrate the need for fiber connectivity. (The 2011 pimer is available on-line, but not the current edition). Here are some highlights:

• Fiber connections are available in an estimated 200 million homes globally
• By 2015, China should have 100 million fiber subscribers, and 90% of Australians will be connected
• In the U.S., one of five homes is “within reach” of fiber.
• 8 million U.S. households are using FTTH services.
• There are now “about” 120 FTTH projects similar to UTOPIA, where “communities build their own networks or collaborate with neighboring communities to do so”
• According to Cisco, by 2016 there will be nearly three IP-connected devices per person.
• Cellular data traffic grew 200-fold from 2006 to 2012, and will grow another eightfold by 2015.