ABC News has reported that demand for new fiber-optic cable is zooming.

“Worldwide, we expect double-digit growth rates in fiber-optic cable demand the next few years,” says Richard Mack of KMI Research/CRU, a London-based research firm.

One of the key reasons stated for the unprecedented growth in the industry has been the boom in moving video and audio files via the Internet, which increases the demand mainly from companies that are connecting houses and apartments to existing fiber-optic lines.

About 1.3 million U.S. households, or 1.3% of all, were connected directly to fiber-optic lines in July, according to the Fiber-to-the-Home Council, a trade group. That number has grown to about 2% of households since then and could reach 25% within three years, says David St. John, spokesman for the group.

Demand for cable is also high in China and India, which industry experts forecast will grow 20% in the next year. All in all, good news for the fiber optics industry.

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=3641179