No need for new regulations – there’s plenty of U.S. broadband competition: ACA Connects

June 27, 2022

Of U.S. households not served by multiple providers, “a significant share is already served, or soon will be,” by a provider receiving government funding who is therefore already subject to government oversight, the organization adds.

Stephen Hardy

ACA Connects, the trade organization that represents more than 600 smaller and medium-sized, independent communications services providers, asserts that a recently released study it sponsored shows that “the vast majority” of U.S. citizens have access to more than one legitimate provider of fixed broadband services. The survey results indicate that additional common-carrier-style regulation of the U.S. broadband market is unnecessary, ACA Connects concludes.

Findings from the survey, Broadband Competition is Thriving across America, include:

More than 90% of U.S. households have access to at least one broadband provider offering 100 Mbps downstream/20+ Mbps upstream (100/20+) and at least one other provider offering 25/3+ service
74% of U.S. households will have access to at least two broadband providers that offer 100/20+ service by 2025 based on historic data. If announced fiber to the premises (FTTP) rollouts complete as planned, this number will rise to 84% of all households by end-of-year 2025
Of U.S. households not served by multiple providers of broadband service, “a significant share is already served, or soon will be,” by a provider receiving government funding who is therefore already subject to government oversight. ACA Connects estimates nearly 7% of U.S. households fall into this category.

The projected share of households with at least two providers capable of offering 100/20+ service, according to a recent ACA Connects study. Projection 1 is based on historic trends; Projection 2 takes into account the announced plans of major incumbent telecommunications providers to increase the rate at which they invest in new fiber.

“The federal government has established a two-prong approach for bringing fast and reliable fixed broadband service to all Americans: enable and encourage entry and competition in a light-touch regulatory environment; and, where the economics are too challenging, subsidize and regulate the provision of service,” commented ACA Connects President and CEO Grant Spellmeyer. “After two decades, the results are now in. We have developed in the United States a broadband infrastructure that is robust, reliable, and competitive because of the combined efforts of the private and public sectors. Working together, the two sectors are making great strides in closing the broadband availability and adoption gaps that remain.

“Given that competition is widespread and thriving, and government has already ample regulatory authority to protect consumers where competition is lacking, there is no justification to impose additional heavy-hand common-carrier-style regulation on fixed broadband providers as a whole,” Spellmeyer continued. “Doing so would yield few, if any, tangible benefits but would discourage entry, investment, and innovation, to the detriment of consumers. However, even if new regulation were to be imposed on larger providers, there is a strong case for exempting smaller providers from any such regulation.”

For related articles, visit the FTTx Topic Center.

For more information on FTTx technology and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.

To stay abreast of fiber network deployments, subscribe to Lightwave’s Service Providers and Datacom/Data Center newsletters.