USA - Fixed and Wireless Broadband Market - Analysis, Statistics and Forecasts

Synopsis

In early 2011 the US was still trailing its OECD counterparts in terms of broadband penetration, speed and affordability. Nevertheless, the market is currently witnessing significant investment activity in FttH deployments, DOCSIS 3.0 upgrades, mobile broadband network rollout and municipal wireless broadband activity. Despite the growing developments in FttH, WiMAX and 3G networks, broadband service in most regions is still generally limited to one DSL and one cable operator.

Thus, a number of important policy statements have been made by the Obama Administration and the FCC which indicate that policy-makers and regulators alike are concerned about the comparatively slow pace of US broadband developments. The need for substantial structural change and regulatory reform, towards a utilities-based approach to broadband infrastructure, is increasingly being recognised. In addition, there is growing recognition of the importance of a trans-sectoral approach to broadband networks including, for instance, the health, education and energy sectors, in order to fully realise the benefits of the nascent digital economy.

This report provides overviews, analysis, relevant statistics and subscriber forecasts on the US cable, DSL, FttH, WiFi and WiMAX broadband markets.

Companies included in this report include:

Clearwire; Sprint; AT&T; Verizon; MetroPCS; US Cellular; Qwest; CenturyLink; Frontier; Windstream; Fairpoint; Cincinnati Bell; Comcast; Google; HughesNet; ViaSat

Table of Contents

• 1. Synopsis
• 2. Key highlights
• 3. US broadband market
  • 3.1 Broadband market overview
  • 3.2 Broadband market statistics
• 4. Policy and regulation framework
  • 4.1 Network regulation Overview
  • 4.2 Broadband stimulus package
  • 4.3 FCC’s National Broadband Plan
  • 4.4 Universal Service Fund
    • 4.4.1 From Universal Service to Universal Broadband
    • 4.4.2 Quick reaction from the telcos
• 5. Cable broadband
  • 5.1 Cable broadband overview
  • 5.2 Cable broadband statistics
• 6. Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
  • 6.1 DSL overview
  • 6.2 DSL statistics
• 7. FttH
  • 7.1 FttH overview
  • 7.2 FttH statistics
• 8. Fixed wireless broadband
  • 8.1 Overview
  • 8.2 WiFi
  • 8.3 WiMAX
  • 8.4 Municipal wireless broadband
  • 8.5 Satellite broadband
• 9. Forecasts
  • 9.1 Overview
  • 9.2 Notes on scenario forecasts
• 10. Related reports

• Table 1 – Broadband lines by major technology – 2005 - 2010
• Table 2 – Top cable and DSL providers, subscribers and market share – 2011
• Table 3 – Broadband subscribers and population penetration in selected OECD countries – 2001; 2010
• Table 4 – USA broadband penetration and OECD ranking – 2001 - 2011
• Table 5 – USA broadband speeds compared to top 5 OECD ranked countries – 2010
• Table 6 – US cable industry infrastructure expenditure – 2000 - 2011
• Table 7 – Top 10 cable MSOs’ coverage, subscribers and penetration by technology – 2010
• Table 8 – Subscribers for top cable modem providers – 2004 - 2011
• Table 9 – DSL subscribers by major carrier – 2003 - 2009
• Table 10 – FttH homes passed and connected – 2001 – 2011
• Table 11 – Forecast broadband subscribers and penetration – lower growth scenario – 2010 - 2016
• Table 12 – Forecast broadband subscribers and penetration – higher growth scenario – 2010 - 2016

• Chart 1 – Broadband (fixed and fixed-wireless) subscribers and penetration – 2000 – 2011
• Chart 2 – Broadband (fixed and fixed-wireless) household penetration – 2000 – 2011
• Chart 3 – US cable modem subscribers and annual change – 2000 – 2011
• Chart 4 – DSL subscribers – 2000 – 2011
• Chart 5 – FttH video homes connected – 2001 – 2011

• Exhibit 1 – Cable broadband drives cable VoIP
• Exhibit 2 – Status of RBOC fibre network build out
• Exhibit 3 – Sprint 4G on the Clearwire WiMAX network