The Fiber Broadband Association recently reported that RVA LLC anticipates that optical fiber will become the major Internet delivery method to homes in the US by 2030. The report estimates that the United States will spend an all-time high of $167 billion on FTTH over the next five years.
Michael Render, principal of RVA and primary analyst of this report, said “Fiber-to-the-home was once only the dream of a few – but has now become a perceived necessary reality to many. Consumer demand for the advantages of optical fiber is unprecedented and the industry is responding. The annual rate of homes-passed and connected are all projected to be at historical record levels, although there are expected impacts from constraints such as permitting time and workforce availability.”
Per RVA’s consumer market research done for the Fiber Broadband Association, the market supports end-to-end fiber over any other Internet delivery method. “According to the latest consumer study, a total of 65% of all consumers now say they would prefer fiber if they had a choice, versus 18% Coax, and 17% for all other methods (wireless, DSL, or satellite). Because of this clear and growing preference, overall average FTTH take-rates will likely continue to increase, even as FTTH homes-passed continues to grow.”
On top of this, the diversity of providers is growing to include telecom companies, cable MSOs, municipalities, rural electric cooperatives, and more. While Tier-1 phone companies continue to be the largest segment in this five-year deployment span, it is projected that their portion of FTTH homes-passed annually will keep falling from their high of 93% in 2006 to an anticipated 43% by 2029.
RVA’s new 2025 report uses surveys and interviews with hundreds of industry experts, network operators, and vendors, and also uses reviews of public and FCC data, as well as surveys of thousands of online consumers who use all variations of broadband. This report “North American Fiber Broadband Report: FTTH Review And Forecast 2025 – 2029” also answers key questions such as, “What is the forecast for BEAD?”, “What is the forecast for the top 20 providers?”, “What are the drivers for this huge overall forecast?”, “Where are the best remaining demographic segments for growth?” and much more. Cabling Installation