Op-Ed: Fiber is the gold standard for rural broadband – BEAD must emphasize it\u00a0<\/p>\n
As the federal government prepares to invest tens of billions in rural broadband through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, the choice of technology is no longer just a technical decision \u2014 it is a generational one. BEAD must prioritize not only what works today, but also what will serve Americans for decades. On every metric that matters \u2014 capacity, performance, scalability, reliability, and longevity \u2014 fiber stands alone.<\/p>\n
In my latest report, Broadband Comparison<\/a>, I compared the full range of broadband technologies: fiber optics, coaxial cable (DOCSIS), fixed wireless access (FWA), and satellite. The results are clear and compelling. Fiber offers extremely high capacity, symmetrical multi-gigabit speeds, imperviousness to weather, and enormous scalability. A single strand of fiber can carry more than 300 terabits per second \u2014 that\u2019s hundreds of times more than the bandwidth of the entire radio spectrum up to 100 GHz.<\/p>\n This capacity advantage is not theoretical. It directly translates to better service quality for households and businesses: higher speeds, lower latency, and far fewer slowdowns during peak usage. Fiber also enables the deployment of technologies such as 5G and beyond. It is, by far, the most future-proof technology available.<\/p>\n By contrast, other technologies have limitations that will compromise rural America except in special circumstances. Cable systems, which use legacy coaxial infrastructure, suffer from signal degradation over distance and are vulnerable to theft and corrosion. While DOCSIS 4.0 provides high throughput, it cannot match the reliability and capacity of fiber.<\/p>\n Because fiber is not always a practical solution for every endpoint, wireless technologies, including FWA, can help bridge gaps, especially with the widespread deployment of 5G. Mid-band 5G can effectively serve less dense population areas, but its capacity and performance are limited by available spectrum. mmWave fixed wireless access (FWA), with access to more spectrum than mid-band frequencies, offers faster speeds and greater capacity, but it works only over short distances and is sensitive to obstructions.\u00a0<\/p>\n Satellite services like Starlink are well suited for some remote areas, but their inherently low capacity in terms of users per square mile, short satellite lifespans, and the need for line-of-sight, disqualify them as a long-term, widespread solution for BEAD goals. In both third-party tests and on its own website, Starlink fails to consistently meet the 100 Mbps <\/a>download and 20 Mbps upload thresholds required by the program. At $120\/month, it is also one of the most expensive options on the market.<\/p>\n Crucially, fiber is not only the best performing option today\u2014it\u2019s also the most cost-effective over time. Its lifespan can exceed 40 years with minimal maintenance. By investing in fiber now, BEAD can avoid the recurring costs of patching or replacing inferior systems.<\/p>\n The stakes are high. Rural Americans deserve broadband that doesn’t just meet today’s standards, but exceeds them for generations to come. BEAD is a once-in-a-generation investment. Let\u2019s not squander it on half-measures. Let\u2019s anchor our broadband future in fiber \u2014 because anything less will shortchange the promise of digital equity.<\/p>\n Peter Rysavy, president of Rysavy Research<\/a>, has been analyzing and reporting on broadband technologies for thirty years.<\/p>\n Op-eds from industry experts, analysts or our editorial staff are opinion pieces that do not represent the opinions of Fierce Network.<\/p>\n AI in telecom isn\u2019t tomorrow\u2019s problem \u2014 it\u2019s today\u2019s imperative. If you\u2019re waiting for it to catch up, you\u2019re already behind. Join Fierce Network, Supermicro and Nvidia for an exclusive\u00a0Accelerating AI Solutions for Telecom\u00a0event at the Dallas Cowboys HQ.\u00a0Click here to check your eligibility<\/a>\u00a0and register today.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Op-Ed: Fiber is the gold standard for rural broadband – BEAD must emphasize it\u00a0 As the federal government…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":91892,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[40072,4286,26909,6997,12165,1638,45819,306,86,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-91891","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-internet","8":"tag-access-and-deployment-bead","9":"tag-broadband","10":"tag-broadband-equity","11":"tag-fiber","12":"tag-fierce-network-homepage","13":"tag-internet","14":"tag-op-ed","15":"tag-regulation","16":"tag-technology","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom","19":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91891\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}