A Fiber Broadband Association press release recently announced the results of its 2023 North America Fiber Provider Survey. The survey showed that nine million homes were newly passed by network operators in 2023, which has set a record for the highest annual FTTH growth.
“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). 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.”
In Canada passings had 12% growth and 11.2 million Canadian homes, with fiber uptake approximately at 44.6%. However, in the U.S. fiber broadband has passed a milestone with more than half of primary homes having fiber, which is part of the larger goal to bring fiber to all United States’ homes. Despite this improvement, there are obstacles and challenges primarily for small providers. Some of these include supply chain issues, the availability of labor and quality of contractors, BEAD regulations, the increase in construction costs, and more.
Deborah Kish, Vice President of Research and Workforce Development at the Fiber Broadband Association, recently commented on the findings stating, “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. The latest rounds of federal and private investments will serve as huge propellants to the next round of fiber broadband success.”
