Cartesian

The federal Universal Service Fund (USF) helps to ensure telecommunications and broadband services are available and affordable for all Americans, supporting critical access for schools, libraries, rural health care, low-income households and rural high-cost areas. Without the USF, it is difficult to make a business case to invest in many rural areas, to sustain networks once they are built, or to keep service rates affordable.

This report examines the impact of broadband rate regulation on investment and competition. The study explores: 1) The state of the broadband market today 2) The nature of rate regulation and where it’s used and 3) The impact of  rate regulation on broadband. 

The Fiber Broadband Association partnered with Cartesian to research the cost of fiber deployment and provide insight on how costs are evolving over time. While no two deployment projects are alike, we found many common themes: