Report: 42 Percent of Rural/Small Town Homes Passed by Fiber

Among residents in cities and suburbs, about 55 percent have been passed by at least one fiber provider, while among those in small towns and rural areas, only about 42 percent have been passed, according to a study by RVA LLC. This leaves a small town/rural opportunity for an initial passing of about 22 million homes. The “2024-2028 North American Fiber Broadband Report: FTTH and 5G Review And Forecast,” said that $150 billion will be spent on fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) networks during the next five years. That spending, which the research firm claimed is more than has been spent on fiber to date, will come from network operator capex reinvestment, private equity investment, government subsidies and other sources. The report noted that growth of route miles of fiber will increase at almost double the rate of home passings during the forecast period. RVA stated that the great increases in fiber deployment will be made by many types of service providers, including telecom companies, cable MSOs, private competitive providers, municipalities and rural electric cooperatives.