Fiber industry talks about fiber broadband business models

All the buzz at the 2022 Fiber Connect conference is due to the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA), which has allocated $45 billion for broadband deployments. And the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) recently unveiled the rules that will apply to the funding, expressing a preference for fiber broadband. Members of the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) and the fiber community in general are living in high-times. Yet despite the good-mood vibe, there are a lot of issues to be resolved when it comes to embarking on a multi-year project to bring fiber broadband to all unserved areas in the US. There’s the supply-chain issue of getting enough fiber-optic cable to deploy. Different people in the industry have talked about a supply crunch for the fiber optics part of fiber; others have talked about a supply shortage for the resin cables that surround the fiber optics. And there are also supply chain issues with the electronics needed for fiber broadband. And even though people are excited by the prospect of IIJA funds, they still have to make a viable business case for any fiber deployments. The NTIA has indicated that areas unserved with broadband will be the top priority. However, those states that can demonstrate in their broadband plans that they will reach all the unserved will also be able to use funding for underserved areas as well.