U.S. Broadband Policy’s North Star: Fiber Is the Key to Closing the Digital Divide
U.S. Broadband Policy’s North Star: Fiber Is the Key to Closing the Digital Divide
U.S. Broadband Policy’s North Star: Fiber Is the Key to Closing the Digital Divide, published by the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) in May 2026, makes the case that fiber broadband must remain the anchor technology of federal and state broadband policy — not as a preference, but as the only infrastructure capable of meeting the long-term connectivity, economic, and AI-readiness demands of every American community. The whitepaper situates this argument within the most consequential federal broadband investment moment in U.S. history, driven primarily by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, authorized under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) signed by President Biden on November 15, 2021.
When the IIJA was signed, 15.2 million locations across the United States were classified as unserved or underserved. By the time the Trump Administration revised the program and issued the Benefit of the Bargain policy notice in June 2025, that number had fallen to 4.2 million — with two-thirds of the networks built using fiber, resulting in 11 million of the original 15.2 million locations being served with fiber through a combination of private investment and federal and state programs including ARPA, CPA, RUS Reconnect, the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), and BEAD. The FBA argues that realizing the full promise of these investments requires policymakers to eliminate restrictive rules, shifting requirements, and burdensome state processes that stall construction and jeopardize awarded funds, while program administration remains aligned with modern fiber standards.
The whitepaper builds a data-driven case for fiber as the performance gold standard. Research conducted jointly by RVA LLC Market Research and Consulting and the FBA found that rural Americans with less than 100/20 Mbps service ranked fiber higher than all other broadband options combined, with fixed wireless ranking last at just 4% of preference votes. A separate Ookla Speedtest Connectivity Report for H1 2025 listed AT&T Fiber as the fastest fixed ISP in the United States, with median latency around 18 milliseconds. On capacity, an FBA analysis comparing Starlink Low Earth Orbit Satellite (LEOS) to Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) using XGS-PON technology found that FTTH with 1,000 OLT ports could provide 10,000,000 Mb/s of capacity — 500 times higher than the 20,000 Mb/s Starlink claims for the same geographic coverage area. The World Broadband Association’s Fixed Networks Energy Efficiency Toolkit further supports fiber’s advantage in energy efficiency per unit of data compared to wireless delivery at scale.
Beyond performance, the FBA frames fiber as essential infrastructure for the emerging AI economy. FBA research notes that data centers can act as economic anchors for rural communities, bringing construction jobs, technical employment, and long-term operations roles — but that they require purpose-built fiber architectures capable of supporting massive scale, ultra-low latency, and continuous operation. The whitepaper warns that allowing remote and high-cost areas to accept non-fiber solutions under revised federal rules has permitted perceived short-term cost savings to constrain the growth of future networks interconnected with America’s computing and broadband backbone.
The FBA’s policy recommendations span five action areas: accelerating permitting reform through transparent, technology-enabled systems and FAST-41-style coordination expanded to broadband projects of all sizes; carefully modernizing networks by retiring copper infrastructure with FCC support; promoting broadband adoption through affordability programs to replace the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which ended in June 2024; ensuring connectivity for every eligible location through accurate FCC broadband maps and a proposed BEAD Reserve Fund of approximately $10 billion recommended by the Advanced Communications Law and Policy Institute at New York Law School; and cultivating relationships with Tribal Nations and rural communities through co-designed service territories, local hiring, and culturally competent outreach. FBA also references its own published companion paper — Permitting for Fiber Network Projects: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly — and its Engineering Best Practices series as resources supporting implementation.
Whitepaper FAQ’s
1. What is the FBA’s “North Star” for U.S. broadband policy? The Fiber Broadband Association’s North Star is universal fiber broadband access — the position that fiber is the only technology capable of meeting the long-term connectivity, economic, and AI-readiness needs of every American community. The FBA argues that while wireless and satellite can play limited roles in extreme-cost locations, they are not suitable as the primary solution for closing the digital divide, and that federal and state funding programs must prioritize fiber to avoid building infrastructure that will require replacement.
2. What is the BEAD program and what has it accomplished so far? The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) signed on November 15, 2021, is the primary federal vehicle for last-mile broadband expansion. When the IIJA was signed, 15.2 million U.S. locations were classified as unserved or underserved. By June 2025, when the Trump Administration issued the Benefit of the Bargain policy notice, that number had fallen to 4.2 million — with two-thirds of networks built using fiber, resulting in 11 million locations served through a combination of BEAD, ARPA, CPA, RUS Reconnect, and RDOF funding.
3. How does fiber broadband performance compare to fixed wireless and satellite alternatives? Research conducted jointly by RVA LLC Market Research and Consulting and the FBA found that rural Americans with less than 100/20 Mbps service ranked fiber higher than all other broadband options combined. Fixed wireless ranked last with just 4% of preference votes, followed by traditional satellite, mobile wireless, DSL, and LEO satellite. Ookla’s U.S. H1 2025 Speedtest Connectivity Report listed AT&T Fiber as the fastest fixed ISP nationwide, with median latency around 18 milliseconds — the low latency and strong upload speeds that make telehealth, remote work, cloud tools, and AI applications perform reliably.
4. How does fiber broadband capacity compare to Starlink LEO satellite? An FBA analysis comparing Starlink Low Earth Orbit Satellite (LEOS) to Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) using XGS-PON technology found a 500-to-1 capacity advantage for fiber. Starlink claims its LEOS provides up to 20 Gb/s (20,000 Mb/s) to cover 28,000 km² — approximately 56,000 subscribers at rural density. FTTH with XGS-PON and 1,000 OLT ports would provide 10,000,000 Mb/s over the same area. The FBA concludes that satellite and wireless can be appropriate stopgaps for truly extreme-cost locations, but fiber is the strongest foundation for long-term capacity, reliability, and futureproofing.
5. Why does the FBA argue that allowing non-fiber solutions in rural areas is a long-term mistake? Under revised federal rules for broadband funding programs, remote and high-cost areas were pressured to accept non-fiber solutions. The FBA argues this allows perceived short-term cost savings to constrain the growth of future networks interconnected with America’s computing and broadband backbone. When public dollars are intended to solve the digital divide permanently, infrastructure that requires replacement within a decade is a deferred cost, not a solution — and it leaves communities without the fiber architecture required to participate in AI-driven economic development and data center growth.
6. What role do data centers play in rural broadband policy? FBA research notes that data centers can act as economic anchors for rural communities, attracting construction activity, technical jobs, long-term operations roles, and related businesses seeking proximity to reliable digital infrastructure. However, data centers require purpose-built fiber architectures capable of supporting massive scale, ultra-low latency, and continuous operation — requirements that non-fiber access technologies cannot meet. The FBA argues that state and federal policymakers must design programs that deploy and upgrade backhaul capacity to meet the growing demand for interconnected homes and data centers.
7. What is the BEAD Reserve Fund and why is it recommended? The Advanced Communications Law and Policy Institute at New York Law School recommended that a BEAD Reserve Fund receive approximately $10 billion in non-deployment dollars to ensure all households are connected in case a broadband provider defaults on its obligation. The recommendation responds to a documented pattern: the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) saw over one-third of households meant to be covered remain unserved, and the Connect America Fund left approximately 50% of households unserved. A reserve fund provides a structural backstop for inevitable coverage gaps.
8. What happened to the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) and what comes next? The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) ended in June 2024. Following its end, policymakers and industry leaders have been working to design new affordability measures for eligible low-income consumers. Congress is examining the issue through the Bipartisan, Bicameral USF Reform Working Group. The FBA recommends that states, municipalities, and providers coordinate to combine affordability mechanisms with adoption programs and digital skills training, arguing that closing the digital divide requires more than deploying infrastructure — each new connection also requires education, affordability support, and public awareness.
9. What permitting reforms does the FBA recommend for fiber deployment? The FBA recommends that states and Congress advance transparent, technology-enabled permitting systems, standardized timelines, and coordinated environmental reviews. NTIA’s environmental screening platforms and FAST-41-style coordination — currently applied to major infrastructure projects — should be expanded to broadband projects of all sizes. States, municipalities, and broadband builders should coordinate with Departments of Transportation (DOTs), utility commissions, and pole owners for make-ready timelines and transparency. The FBA has published a companion paper, Permitting for Fiber Network Projects: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, and is developing an Engineering Best Practices series on the topic.
10. How does network modernization factor into the FBA’s policy agenda? The FBA supports the careful retirement of outdated copper network infrastructure as government and private industry invest in modern fiber networks. The current FCC is advancing rulemaking to enable this transition. Modernizing legacy infrastructure reduces costs across networks, promotes investment in more sustainable and reliable connectivity, and can improve public safety communications reliability by eliminating downtime caused by copper maintenance and theft.
11. What does the FBA recommend for serving Tribal Nations and rural communities? The FBA recommends that broadband providers treat tribal and rural partnerships as a core competency, co-designing service territories with tribes and municipalities, building local hiring and maintenance capacity, and providing culturally competent outreach. Tribal Nations and rural communities require policies that respect sovereignty, local conditions, and long-term sustainability. The FBA’s Economic Impact Study on Charlottesville, Virginia, demonstrated that fiber deployment was a catalyst for job creation, housing value growth, and digital entrepreneurship — a model the FBA points to as evidence of fiber’s broader community development value.
12. What is the 2026 Farm Bill’s relevance to broadband? The U.S. House introduced a version of the 2026 Farm Bill that would codify and fund the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s ReConnect broadband grants program. The FBA, broadband industry leaders, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce support the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 and continued federal funding for programs that catalyze economic development in rural communities. The FBA argues that a wide array of targeted broadband programs must continue until every American is served by a reliable, high-speed connection capable of supporting emerging technologies including artificial intelligence and telehealth.