For broadband and fiber, 2024 will be huge. Industry stakeholders are preparing for next year and beyond when $42.5 billion in Broadband, Equity, Access, and Development (BEAD) funds from the 2021 infrastructure bill finally hits the ground. Money from other federal programs, loans, grants, and capital project funds approved out of the pandemic is already making its way to states, but the $5 to $10 billion per year in BEAD funds to come will reshape the market.
This is also the year the industry trend is shifting: from a focus on homes passed to getting homes connected. Service providers are starting to take advantage of newly deployed fiber networks, which means higher adoption rates and revenue for them, sure, but it also means new customers coming online. If BEAD were to achieve its ambitious goal of 100% national high-speed broadband coverage in five years, it would open new doors of opportunity for every individual in every community in the country.
This future, however, depends on what we do this year. In 2024, we need to put our best efforts into making this incoming investment count.
A year of empowering labor to rise to the challenge
With BEAD funds coming into circulation, everyone in the industry knows we need more skilled laborers to keep up. Already, the aging workforce continues to shift into retirement, and the existing workforce is very new. This year, everyone can do their part to accommodate.
To mediate the increased demand for skilled technicians to connect homes in the hardest-to-reach, rural areas, we are focused on making installation easier and more accessible. Our product development has focused on smaller-sized populations with lower subscriber densities and being built-to-scale from very small to very large.
We are also leveraging technology. We have partnered with a mobile app to offer our own interactive platform with step-by-step instructions to install our products. Rather than sending one of our technicians into the field, or even redirecting them via QR code to a YouTube video or external platform, customers can view and rotate 3D pictures, zoom in connections, and read through, or listen to the installation process in our custom app over their phones. By helping service providers reduce errors, speed up installation, and get to revenue faster, we help ensure their successful investment of BEAD funding.
A year of getting fiber to rural homes
Under BEAD program rules, states get $100 million plus a portion of the remaining funds relative to their unserved and underserved locations, with a preference for future-proofing those investments with fiber. Subsidized revenue opportunities in areas they would otherwise have never been able to reach cost-effectively means more suppliers and service providers are willing to go there and deploy it.
Still, getting rural residents connected will be a multifaceted and complicated path. Coordination can get thorny. Local officials need to administer permitting and access to right-of-way, but just as the industry lacks skilled labor for installing fiber and connecting homes, many of these rural localities lack enough people to keep up with a high volume of permitting requests. Many are still operating a paper trail and fax machine. Getting in a request on time may not always mean getting access.
States falling behind in BEAD planning can still use this year to catch up by looking at the examples of those in the lead. In South Carolina, for example, officials are leveraging geospatial information system data to help streamline and facilitate the process. If builders have to attend orientation sessions or coordinate with railroads and other federal agencies, they can visit a forum to learn each step, fast-track their permit application, and ensure they can roll out services with fewer costly holdups.
BEAD recognizes that every U.S. resident deserves access to high-speed broadband. Federal, state, and municipal officials will need to work together with service providers to facilitate, not inhibit that.
The year of mainstreamed remote and hybrid workplaces
Most U.S. Internet subscribers today either choose cable or fiber for their fast download speeds, but while fiber speeds are symmetrical, cable has limited upload speeds. With more people working from home than ever and simultaneous at-home use of network connections on the rise, consumers are starting to witness the difference. While the broadband market is gaining customers, cable companies are adding more fiber to their networks to keep them.
When fiber consumers work from home, everyone notices. Slower speeds are more obvious than ever in groups where at least one person present has the support of fiber. Downloads, zoom calls, gaming — every interaction on their end is seamless. As product developers continue to support fiber users with more and better interactive tools to leverage symmetrical speeds, they will drive their work-from-home competitive advantage.
Evolving technology transforms lives and fiber-based broadband is an enabler of that lifestyle, but we’re still only scratching the surface of what it can do. With artificial intelligence, automation, machine learning, and beyond, we will continue to find ways for these advancements to improve people's lives. Fiber providers will continue to expand into new regions and, once people have the option to switch, we have already seen that the majority will take it.
Still, we have a long way to go. Of about 140 million U.S. households, we are nearly at 80 million homes passed for fiber coverage, but counting multiple home connections, that translates to over 220 million addressable homes for fiber. After access, we still have to tackle sustained affordability to ensure we close the digital divide, and digital literacy campaigns to ensure people in previously unserved regions take advantage of these new opportunities. It may take more like seven to ten years rather than five, but we can achieve universal high-speed broadband if all industry stakeholders spend this year doing what we can to make it happen.
