Broadband Investment Continued Trending Down in 2016

US broadband providers invested approximately $76.0 billion in network infrastructure in 2016 down from approximately $77.9 billion in 2015 and $78.4 billion in 2014. From 1996 through 2016, the broadband industry has made capital investments totaling $1.6 trillion. The start of the decline, the first since the recession ended in 2009, coincided with Federal Communications Commission’s 2015 decision to reclassify broadband providers as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act. The data raise flags that warrant further investigation into whether Title II reclassification contributed to the decline in broadband capital investment.