Research from Fiber Broadband Association and RVA Reveals Gigabit Fiber Can Add $326B to U.S. GDP

Study answers the question, “Why do we need a gig+?”

Today at Fiber Connect 2024, the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) announced a new study, performed by RVA LLC Market Research & Consulting (RVA), that confirms users should subscribe to the fastest level of broadband service (gigabit+) offered by their provider as time, efficiency, and productivity benefits quickly add up financially. That is money in the pocket of gigabit+ subscribers. With a gigabit or more of fiber broadband service, the research estimates that the U.S. could add $326 billion to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“Our nation’s demand for bandwidth will continue increasing, so constant improvement in broadband speeds must be prioritized. Fiber broadband continues to show the most value in terms of reliability, longevity, sustainability, and more, making it the best investment for broadband infrastructure,” said John George, FBA Technology Committee Chair and OFS Senior Director of Solutions Engineering and Fusion Splicers. “This study quantifies how fiber broadband increases productivity—the key to growing the economy and real wages per capita. Therefore, governments should prioritize fiber and the benefits it can deliver to communities and economies.”

When only lower bandwidth is available, many applications will automatically downgrade quality and waste subscriber time. In fact, the research suggests that by increasing bandwidth speeds for today’s work-from-home subscriber accounts (which account for about 24.5% of all work conducted in the U.S.) from 100/20 Mbps to gigabit fiber to the home would potentially add a staggering 1.2% or $326 billion to GDP.

In addition to the nearly unlimited bandwidth of fiber broadband infrastructure, FBA has published several studies and white papers that prove fiber broadband offers by far the lowest latency of any internet delivery method: fiber has 37% better latency than cable, 61% better than DSL and wireless, and 96% better than geo satellite. Fiber is also more reliable, having the greatest uptime of other internet methods because of fewer powered components in the network. Fiber’s value proposition is undeniable as it offers the best performance advantage in terms of personal efficiency.

The gigabit productivity study can be downloaded here. FBA will review the research findings during an episode of Fiber for Breakfast on August 7, at 10:00 am EDT. Register here for the episode. To learn more about FBA’s full library of research, visit fiberbroadband.org/research-and-resources or subscribe to FBA’s Fiber Forward Weekly newsletter here to stay updated.

About the Fiber Broadband Association

The Fiber Broadband Association is the largest and only trade association that represents the complete fiber ecosystem of service providers, manufacturers, industry experts, and deployment specialists dedicated to the advancement of fiber broadband deployment and the pursuit of a world where communications are limitless, advancing quality of life and digital equity anywhere and everywhere. The Fiber Broadband Association helps providers, communities, and policymakers make informed decisions about how, where, and why to build better fiber broadband networks. Since 2001, these companies, organizations, and members have worked with communities and consumers in mind to build the critical infrastructure that provides the economic and societal benefits that only fiber can deliver. The Fiber Broadband Association is part of the Fibre Council Global Alliance, which is a platform of six global FTTH Councils in North America, LATAM, Europe, MEA, APAC, and South Africa. Learn more at fiberbroadband.org.

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