Washington, DC (September 10, 2019) — Today, the Fiber Broadband Association and strategy consulting firm Cartesian released a study that explores the costs associated with deploying all-fiber networks to all households across the entire United States.
The study finds that:
- Today, we are on a pace to deploy all-fiber networks to about 50% of US households by 2025.
- These accelerated all-fiber builds are driven by increasing consumer demand for higher performance broadband, provider willingness to focus on long-term returns, and government efforts to lower barriers to deployment costs and provide targeted subsidies.
- By 2029, we can pass 90% of US households by increasing current spending on all-fiber networks by approximately an additional $70B. (Passing 80% of U.S. households with fiber will require spending approximately an additional $50B.)
- We can achieve this objective and ensure virtually everyone has access to future-proof networks through innovative deployment models, government efforts to lower access to essential infrastructure, and efficiently provided government support.
“Building all-fiber networks throughout America is not a pipe dream,” said Lisa R. Youngers, President and CEO of the Fiber Broadband Association. “We have long known that having access to all-fiber networks is far superior than other technologies in driving economic growth, social interaction, and political engagement. Now we know that deploying all-fiber networks to most parts of the country within the next decade is feasible. If we want to close the digital divide, it is essential that we make all-fiber networks a reality for all of America’s communities.”
More than 19 million Americans lack access to broadband — and the vast majority live in rural communities. In fact, 24% of rural Americans lack access to 25 Mbps service, but less than 2% of urban Americans lack this same broadband access. Deploying fiber in rural communities will be a key step to solving the digital divide in the United States.
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About the Fiber Broadband Association
The Fiber Broadband Association is the largest and only trade association in the Americas dedicated to the pursuit of all- fiber-optic network infrastructure to the home, to the business and to everywhere. The Fiber Broadband Association helps providers make informed decisions about how, where, and why to build better broadband networks with fiber optics while working with its members to lead the organization forward, collaborate with industry allies and propel the deployment of fiber networks. Since 2001, these companies, organizations and members have worked with communities and consumers in mind to build a better broadband future here and around the world. Learn more at fiberbroadband.org.
Media Contact
Anne Keeney
akeeney@glenechogroup.com
Fiber Broadband Members can go here to access the study.
