Trade Group: Fiber Growth Fastest In U.S. History

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2024 - A national broadband association said that fiber connections in the United States are growing faster than at any time in the nation’s history.

The Fiber Broadband Association, headquartered in Washington, D.C., filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission on Monday regarding the FCC’s annual Section 706 Notice of Inquiry. The association noted in its comments that access to fiber broadband has expanded at an unprecedented level.

“In just two decades, all-fiber connections have grown from virtually ‘nothing’ to reach more than 50% of the locations in the U.S.,” said FBA President and CEO Gary Bolton, “This makes fiber the fastest growing fixed communications network technology in the nation’s history.”

Service providers are on track to connect six million additional locations to broadband internet in 2024, according to FBA.

The association noted in other comments that the FCC should adopt a more ambitious broadband standard than the current benchmark of 100 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream.

FBA asserted that the adoption of 1 Gbps symmetrical speeds would align with current market trends.