Frontier study forecasts fiber deployments will accelerate U.S. economy by over $3 trillion
According to a new Frontier study, Fiber-based broadband is not just about providing unlimited speeds for consumers and businesses; it can also have an economic impact.
In partnership with the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) and the Brattle Group, Frontier has debuted a new study that finds that deploying fiber in the U.S. could generate an estimated $3.24 trillion in economic impact by increasing housing values, lifting average household income, and creating jobs.
“This study provides us with data that shows the incredible impact that our fiber technology can have on individuals, communities, and the U.S. economy, giving us even more reason to believe in our purpose of Building Gigabit America,” said Nick Jeffery, CEO of Frontier.
Fiber growth potential
While fiber offers greater speeds and resiliency for consumers and businesses, the U.S. market has plenty of room for growth.
Today, the U.S. trails most developed countries in fiber deployment, with about 62 million broadband serviceable locations— including 56 million households — lacking fiber access.
This comes against the backdrop of U.S. fiber growth.
A 2023 Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) study revealed that fiber broadband passed nearly 69 million of the 132 million U.S. homes, reflecting a 13% growth.
Adoption rates of fiber broadband continue to rise. According to the FBA, 5.6 million new households have subscribed to fiber since December 2021. However, the industry association noted that even with this progress, only about half of the serviceable locations in the U.S. will be unserved by fiber in 2023.
Fueling economic growth
The authors aim to quantify fiber deployment's significant incremental economic benefits even with other high-speed broadband technologies like cable.
A key element of driving growth would be felt in areas with few broadband options. According to the study, deploying fiber to the 56 million U.S. households unserved by fiber can generate $1.64 trillion in net present value (NPV) in increased housing values.
Other potential benefits the study cites are household revenue and job creation.
In non-urban areas, fiber deployment can increase household income by $1.6 trillion in NPV.
Likewise, fiber deployment can potentially create at least 380,000 new jobs in the U.S. economy.
Gary Bolton, Fiber Broadband Association CEO. “With over $100 billion being committed to broadband expansion through initiatives like ARPA and BEAD, focusing on fiber deployment will really drive economic growth, enhance community well-being, and set us up for long-term success,” he said.
Raising fiber awareness
Having revamped its management team, adding many executives who helped build Verizon’s Fios network, and setting an aggressive fiber build-out strategy, it makes sense for Frontier to speak out about FTTH opportunities.
Through this study, Frontier wants to raise awareness of the economic benefits of expanding fiber access and highlight how directing existing public funding toward fiber deployment can maximize these benefits.
Frontier itself has extensive experience rolling out fiber-based broadband.
As of the end of the third quarter, Frontier had added 381,000 fiber passings to reach 7.6 million total locations passed with fiber. It also added 108,000 fiber broadband customers, resulting in fiber broadband customer growth of 19.3% year over year.
Looking forward, Frontier is set for even more fiber broadband growth when it becomes part of Verizon, which announced earlier this year that it would acquire the provider for $20 billion.
During its third-quarter earnings call, Verizon said that Frontier’s 2.2 million fiber subscribers across 25 states would join Verizon’s approximately 7.4 million Fios connections in 9 states and Washington, D.C. In addition to Frontier’s 7.2 million fiber locations, the company is committed to building an additional 2.8 million fiber locations by the end of 2026.
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Sean Buckley
Sean is responsible for establishing and executing the editorial strategies of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report across their websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products.