Study: Rural Americans See Fiber as Best Choice for Broadband
On the heels of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) overhauling the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program and eliminating BEAD’s so-called “fiber preference,” the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) announced results from a nationwide survey that show rural Americans believe fiber is the most-capable, best-performing broadband technology.
The study, conducted by analyst and consulting firm RVA LLC, “shows that Americans understand that fiber broadband is the best option for reliable, high-speed internet and any other option falls short in supporting existing and future digital demands,” the FBA said when announcing high-level results.
Conducted this year, the study revealed 75% of adults in both rural and suburban/urban areas believe that high-quality internet is very important to their household. The study, conducted among 2650 Americans, focused on participants’ perceptions of which broadband technology has the best performance. “Respondents in rural locations with less than 100/20 Mbit/sec broadband service [meaning less than 100-Mbit/sec upload and 20-Mbit/sec download speeds] ranked fiber broadband higher than all other options combined,” the FBA said. “Fixed wireless broadband ranked lowest with 4% of votes, followed by traditional satellite, mobile wireless, DSL [Digital Subscriber Line] and LEO [low Earth orbit] satellites.”
“Fiber broadband stood out overwhelmingly in our study,” observed Michael Render, RVA LLC’s principal. “The responses demonstrated a strong consumer awareness of fiber’s superior performance, especially in communities that have experienced firsthand the limitations of other broadband technologies.”
FBA vice president of research and workforce development Deborah Kish concluded, “This research confirms what we’ve long known: Americans, especially those in underserved rural areas, recognize that only fiber can meet the demands of modern life. Fiber is a faster, more-reliable futureproof infrastructure our nation can invest in. That is what our communities are asking for, loud and clear.”