Broadband Communities

Verizon’s Fios business continued to flourish in the second quarter as its broadband subscriber base rose again. During the quarter, Verizon added 92,000 Consumer Fios Internet customers. Total Fios revenues were up 5.4 percent year-over-year, driven by continued broadband subscriber growth. It ended the quarter with a total of 6.4 million Fios subscribers. Consumer Fios revenues of $2.9 billion in second-quarter 2021 were the highest since the company's new operating structure was introduced in 2019.

Federal action is making significant new resources available to states and localities for broadband programs. The magnitude of this funding enables cities of all sizes to consider bold investments in broadband infrastructure. Where private internet service providers (ISPs) failed to provide adequate service, cities often turn to municipal fiber to the premises (FTTP) models. With the government becoming both infrastructure owner and service provider, these approaches enable municipalities to design networks that serve their residents and achieve policy objectives.

USA Cares and Connected Nation are asking leaders to consider using a portion of the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund–which recently allocated $350 billion across states, territories and tribal governments to use for pandemic-related economic recovery activities–to provide immediate relief and long-term support for veterans and military spouses. USA Cares works daily with veterans struggling with financial needs and other challenges that made adapting to life outside the military difficult. Connected Nation, dedicated to helping local communities, states, and federal agencie

With the ability to be deployed more quickly than fiber at a possible lower cost–especially in rural, hard-to-reach areas–fixed wireless access (FWA) offers service providers another tool to give more people access to internet connectivity. A digital divide exists because provision of broadband is uneconomical. Both the terms of broadband subsidies and the desires of users require relatively rapid deployment, and FWA can be deployed much more quickly than fiber. It can also cost less, especially in the areas where a digital divide is more likely to persist.

The US faces complex choices in how to fix broadband infrastructure to close the digital divide. Governments, businesses, service providers, telecommunication infrastructure companies, and other players will need to work together to connect users in a scalable, cost-effective way while weighing new technology advancements to build a future-proof network available to and affordable for all.