Municipal providers are more likely than RBOCs and other incumbents to aggressively roll out FTTP.

"RBOC resistance" is cited by 24 percent of respondents as the biggest roadblock to widespread FTTP deployment in the U.S. However, high cost is considered a bigger problem by the highest proportion of respondents -- 45 percent.

The likelihood of RBOCs deploying widespread FTTP next year is considered "unlikely" by the highest proportion of respondents (38 percent). However 24 percent say it's "somewhat likely," and a further 21 percent say it's "highly likely."

Ethernet PONs (passive optical networks) and Ethernet switches garner the highest number of votes for being technologies with "the biggest positive influence on FTTP rollouts." Third-gen DLCs, cited by their vendors as a handy stepping stone towards FTTP, get a paltry 10 percent of the vote.

The average residential subscriber would be prepared to pay between $50 and $100 a month for triple-play voice/data/video services, according to 68 percent of respondents.

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— Peter Heywood, Founding Editor, Light Reading