A U.S. communications company is trying to build a fibre-optic network all the way into people's homes, a development that they hope will plug consumers directly into the wired world.

Verizon expects 85 per cent of their customers to be connected to the network by optical fibre directly to their homes, a company spokeswoman told CBC News Online at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Tammy Wright, a manager with Verizon, said no date has been set for the goal but said it is achievable because of the lowering cost of fibre optics.

"It was certainly cost-prohibitive before now but as an organization we've decided to go forward with the plan," said Wright.

The average cost of broadband over fibre has dipped below that of cable in the last quarter, according to a study released in January by the U.K.-based broadband analyst Point Topic.

Connecting to a fibre-optic cable network is nothing new, but a direct fibre-to-the-premises, or FTTP, connection to the home is only just beginning. Point Topic's study found only 10 per cent of broadband subscribers were connected through a fibre to the home or other close location.

Since 2005, Verizon has been spending billions of dollars laying the new fibre network in neighbourhoods across the United States.

Hooking optical fibre directly to the home would provide an improvement to broadband connections for video on demand and high-speed internet access, Wright said.

Verizon already has invested in FiOS TV, a fibre-to-the-premises telecommunications service that pulls broadcast TV, the internet and other media together in one platform.