Japan continues to rocket past the U.S. when it comes to fiber deployment. Japanese businesses and residents can get fiber broadband connections in more than a third of the country, compared to less than 2% of the U.S. Japanese broadband customers also pay much less; a 50 megabit fiber connection in Japan sells for under $30 a month.
The fiber connections are enabling all kinds of new services, including telemedicine and telehealth applications. Japan is already well beyond the tired "triple play" that still gets most of the attention in the U.S. (voice, video, and data). An open, multi-service network can provide communities with access to innovative new services far beyond the old monopoly-style services we have today.