U.S. FTTH deployments set record in 2022: Fiber Broadband Association

Dec. 22, 2022

The research, which RVA LLC Market Research & Consulting performed on behalf of the association, showed that FTTH networks passed 7.9 million additional homes in the U.S. this year, despite supply chain and labor constraints.

Stephen Hardy

The Fiber Broadband Association has released results of its 2022 Fiber Provider Survey, which showed that U.S. fiber to the home (FTTH) deployments will set a record. The research, which RVA LLC Market Research & Consulting performed on behalf of the association, showed that FTTH networks passed 7.9 million additional homes in the U.S. this year, despite supply chain and labor constraints.

There are now 68 million fiber broadband passings in the U.S., an increase of 13% from last year and 27% over 2020. With duplicate passings from multiple providers removed, FTTH passes 63 million homes in the country, with nearly half of primary homes and more than 10% of second homes now fiber broadband ready.

Canada has also seen significant FTTH deployments, the Fiber Broadband Association reveals. Approximately 66% of Canadian homes have been passed with FTTH.

The association notes that the jump in FTTH deployments comes as significant government funding efforts, such as BEAD, RDOF, and ReConnect, among others, are just beginning to have a direct effect.

“High-quality broadband has become more important to consumers every year. Fiber broadband exceeds all other types of delivery in every single measurement of broadband quality, including speeds, uptime, latency, jitter, and power consumption,” said Gary Bolton, president and CEO of the Fiber Broadband Association. “For the consumer this has real-world impacts, like more productivity, better access to health care and education, more entrepreneurism, and the option of more rural living. For society, this means more sustainability and, ultimately, digital equity.”

Mike Render, founder and CEO of RVA, will discuss the survey’s findings of the 2022 Fiber Provider Survey on the associations’ Fiber for Breakfast webcast on Wednesday, December 28, 2022, at 10:00am ET. Click here to register for the episode.

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About the Author

Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave

Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.

Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.

He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.

You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.