WASHINGTON D.C.—As consumers demand faster broadband connections for streaming and a host of other applications, the Fiber Broadband Association is reporting that 2023 set a new record for the highest annual growth of Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) deployments, with nine million homes newly passed by network operators this year alone.
The growth comes at a time when the U.S. federal government has been spending heavily to expand the reach of broadband services
The 2023 North America Fiber Provider Survey, which was carried out by RVA LLC Market Research & Consulting (RVA), highlighted several areas of progress.
Most notably, the record reach of FTTH.
FTTH homes passed and being marketed to consumers in the U.S. grew 13% in 2023 to 78 million homes. Fiber broadband now passes nearly 69 million unique U.S. homes (excluding second or third passings of the same home).
The survey also found that fiber providers in the U.S. are experiencing a 45.4% average take rate versus unique homes passed and some report significant first-year take-rate improvement in 2023.
Overall Canadian passings had 12% growth in 2023 to 12.1 million. Fiber now passes 11.2 million unique Canadian homes and fiber uptake in Canada is estimated at 44.6% (including incumbent providers and CLEC providers utilizing fiber installed by others).
Diversity in fiber provider type is increasing over time too, the survey found.
One important trend here is the expansion of rural electric fiber broadband providers within the last five years, the group said.
While their overall share of homes passed is currently the smallest at 2.2%, rural electric providers have quickly entered the fiber broadband market and now almost match homes passed by municipalities at 2.7%.
Incumbent telephone tier 1 & derivative fiber providers still lead with 64.7% of homes passed; incumbent telephone tier 2 & 3 providers have 11.3% of homes passed; private competitive providers/CLECs have 9.9%; and MSO/Cable operators have 9.1%.
Significantly, fiber broadband has now officially passed the half-way point in the quest to provide fiber to all U.S. homes. Fiber now passes 51.5% of primary homes in the United States.
Fiber broadband also passes a growing percentage of second homes or short-term rentals. RVA estimates the total available market remaining for FTTH may be over 100 million homes including second and third passings in many areas, and there is likely a decade of deployment at or above the current momentum.
However, challenges still remain, especially for small providers, based on this year’s survey of providers, the researchers said.
The largest perceived challenge is labor availability and quality of contractors, followed by rising construction costs, materials concerns, permitting, BEAD regulations, and more, the survey found.
“We’ve known for years that the benefits of fiber outweigh any other broadband technology available, but it is always refreshing to have this annual survey validate those facts. Year after year, our research demonstrates the growing preference for fiber and the increased success of the fiber broadband ecosystem in extending the reach of high-quality broadband networks,” said Deborah Kish, Vice President of Research and Workforce Development at the Fiber Broadband Association. “The latest rounds of federal and private investments will serve as huge propellants to the next round of fiber broadband success. We are proud to be a foundational partner to the fiber broadband industry and provide the guidance and resources needed to overcome challenges and connect every community to reliable broadband and the opportunities it delivers.”
