USTelecom

According to USTelecom's 2021 Broadband Capital Expenditures report, America's broadband industry investment reached a twenty-year high in 2021, driving $86 billion in capital expenditures into the nation’s communications infrastructure. The improvements are making US broadband networks faster and more widely available. The 2021 capital influx is a recent high-water mark but it stands on the shoulders of decades of continued investment into America’s world-leading communications infrastructure. Since 1996, US providers have invested $2 trillion into their networks and communities.

In a meeting with the Federal Communications Commission's Telecommunications Access Policy Division, USTelecom argued that the Commission should commit to launching a proceeding to modernize the Universal Service Fund (USF)  contributions system by ensuring that the services and entities that contribute reflect the purposes and beneficiaries of the USF. USTelecom said the FCC should request additional authority from Congress as necessary to ensure it can substantially expand the contributions base.

On behalf of "America's Broadband Providers," USTelecom sent a letter to Biden Administration officials on how the administration can "make the most of America's $65 billion broadband investment." "Connecting every American, regardless of geography or income, will require unprecedented collaboration across the private and public sectors, spanning federal, state, Tribal and local governments," says the letter. "Getting the details right will ultimately make (or break) this work.

The need for broadband connectivity has never been greater and closing the final segments of the broadband gap will require true public-private partnerships. States and communities have the ability to help their residents, not just through funding programs, but also by preparing their communities to receive broadband service. USTelecom has compiled a list of things that states should be considering as they prepare for an influx of federal broadband funding.

Using Federal Communications Commission and other public data sources to assess recent trends in residential fixed broadband pricing in the United States. The analysis reveals continued substantial price reductions for both the most popular and highest-speed broadband internet services. The data show consumers are also benefiting from marked increases in the speeds they receive for their broadband dollar.