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Fibre optic is certainly the future communications infrastructure, it's just that communications companies (mainly in the western world...) have invested so heavily in their older copper networks, they're only really using fibre for backbone infrastructure. For most people this means FTTC (Fibre to the cabinet) installations at best, so a roadside cabinet is serviced by fibre and then distributed to homes using the existing copper network which works reasonably well as long as you don't truly live out in the sticks. The problem is that communications companies are spending lots of money to try to keep their copper networks somewhat relevant and charging customers more for the privilege (certainly in the US anyway, where fibre upgrades received government subsidies in the 90's but whilst the money was taken, the networks weren't upgraded...). On the other hand, fibre as a medium is far from being saturated and as a result, can be upgraded by changing the boxes at either end for faster equipment as newer technology develops, if only the communications companies would lay fibre lines to every home sooner rather than later so we can keep up with countries like South Korea!