An initial US fiber-to-the-home build could be completed by the end of the decade — if federal dollars are
Fiber broadband availability grew by 12% in 2021, but fewer than half of the households in the U.S. have access to fiber-based broadband services, according to a new provider survey from the Fiber Broadband Association.
The survey estimated that 43% of U.S. households have access to fiber-based broadband service, while 60% of households in Canada have fiber access.
However, the immense amount of federal dollars in the form of both pandemic relief funds that are still being spent, and infrastructure-spending dollars that have yet to become fully available, represent a fiber boom to come.
According to a release from the FBA, the study conducted by RVA LLC Market Research and Consulting “suggests that if all federal infrastructure funding is directed at fiber, there could be more fiber deployed in the next five years than all the fiber deployed to-date, enabling the initial U.S. FTTH build to be nearing completion by the end of this decade.” The wireless industry, which relies heavily on fiber but is also expanding wireless home broadband services and wants federal dollars to support such deployments in rural and underserved areas, may have mixed feelings about that.
“When every community can leverage fiber optics for its critical infrastructure, we’ll open endless possibilities for prosperity,” said Gary Bolton, president and CEO at the Fiber Broadband Association. “The private sector is increasing its understanding of the importance of fiber and government efforts to close the digital divide have never been greater. This momentum is exciting and sets the stage for our industry to finally deliver digital equity to everyone regardless of where they live, work or play.”
Among other findings from the survey:
-The largest service providers, like AT&T, Verizon, Lumen and the five largest cable companies, have built 72% of fiber broadband access networks. Interestingly, the survey found that relatively small projects by Tier 3 market players like rural telco s or electric companies, small cable players and municipalities comprise 17-18% of fiber access; their coverage may exist in parts of one, two, three or four states rather than a national or large regional network. Tier 2 providers like Windstream, Frontier, TDS and Consolidated make up 10% of the build.
-Small and medium fiber providers reported that supply chain issues and labor shortages were their biggest areas of concern.
-Most fiber customers — around 90% — are offered speeds of 1 Gigabit or more, and are typically offered symmetrical speeds.
