Broadband Investment Continues to Hold Steady in 2011

The broadband industry invested nearly $66 billion in the nation’s information infrastructure in 2011, with wireline providing the largest portion of capital, according to USTelecom.

Data from this 2011 research updates a data series published last year which documents the amount of capital broadband providers have invested since 1996. Through 2011, broadband providers have invested approximately $1.2 trillion. In 2011 wireline broadband providers invested nearly $27 billion, according to the study. From 1996 through 2011, wireline broadband providers invested approximately $640 billion in broadband infrastructure. Also, wireline contributed the largest portion of industry capital in 2011: 41 percent, compared to 40 percent for wireless and 19 percent for cable. High-speed fixed access and fiber core networks are essential to carry the large volume of data traffic, which has grown from the equivalent of 8.3 million DVDs per month in 2000 to more than 1.4 billion DVDs per month in 2010, and is expected to triple again over the next five years.