The NTIA BEAD program will help us get fiber to two-thirds of the remaining 4.2 million unserved and underserved locations, but unfortunately over 840,000 rural families will be left with LEO satellite as their only option.
Meanwhile, the landscape has changed. What the IIJA did not anticipate was the emergence of AI platforms and services and the critical (fiber) infrastructure needed to support its growth and usage. A year after the introduction of NTIA BEAD, ChatGPT was introduced on November 30, 2022, and became the fastest adopted technology in history, reaching 750 million weekly active users in under three years. Given that NTIA will have over $20 billion in remaining BEAD funding, FBA is advocating that this surplus BEAD funding be directed to building AI critical fiber infrastructure, middle mile fiber, and workforce development. These same priorities are being voiced by multiple bipartisan Senators and Governors. The fiber industry will be successful in connecting every home with fiber, but our mission has been significantly elevated as we also work to build out our nation’s critical AI fiber infrastructure by 2040 or beyond.
FBA Performance
In the third quarter of 2025, the Fiber Broadband Association has achieved its 19th straight quarter of growth. Financially, we ended August with continued strong revenue growth, outperforming our year-to-date budget target by 16.5%. FBA operations revenue also outperformed the budget by 23% while tightly managing expenses. The key contributors to FBA’s operations revenue growth were membership revenue, growing over 12% year-over-year, strong regional events, investment income, and nonconference sponsorships. We also saw strong 22% annual revenue growth from our Fiber Connect 2025 annual conference.
Regional Fiber Connect Workshops
We held regional Fiber Connect workshops in Toronto, Canada, in August and in Spokane, Washington, in September. We are excited about the tremendous response and excitement that we are seeing from Canada. Our new Canadian working group, led by Co-Chairs Robert Petruk (Dura-Line), Ian Oliver (Globema), and Justin Cameron (Talley), met in person the day before our Toronto event and this group is highly engaged. We expect to see strong work products and advocacy recommendations come out of this working group as Canada strives to connect its northern remote areas and First Nations. For instance, work is underway on our first Economic Impact Study on Saskatchewan, leveraging data we learned during one of the Toronto keynotes.
One of the highlights in Spokane was the roll out of our partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. We feel our members and the communities they serve will significantly benefit in our shared mission to elevate the quality of life for generations to come. We will finish 2025 with Regional Fiber Connect workshops in Scottsdale in October and in Kansas City in November. Our final event of the year will be our Premier Members meeting in Palm Springs on December 8 and 9.
FBA Work Products (3Q)
Our committees and working groups are focused on developing and publishing studies and industry best practices. During the third quarter, FBA’s committees, working groups, and research partners published the following resources, studies and industry best practices:
FBA OpTIC Path™ Fiber Optic Workforce Development
I am pleased to report that we have now graduated 1,167 students from our OpTIC Path training program from over 25 community colleges, high schools, and private training institutions across 16 states leveraging the program. We also developed a series of stackable micro-credentials that align with specific job roles, creating a structured career ladder for technicians. Our newest learning institutions include NoaNet in Washington; Ashland University and Youngstown State in Ohio; the City of Pharr, Texas; and SUNY Brockport in New York. Our tribal schools and pilots include, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina; Benteh Steam Academy of the Knik Tribe in Anchorage, Alaska; and Oneida Nation in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
FBA 4Q Goals
As we move into the fourth quarter of 2025, the following are our top-level goals:
- Continue to work closely with the state broadband offices and the Administration to advance and accelerate fiber deployment.
- Work closely with the Administration and Congress on plans and policies to build out our nation’s fiber-based critical AI infrastructure.
- Educate policymakers on the co-dependency of AI and fiber.
- Execute FBA Federal Public Policy Fly-In in Washington, DC, in October.
- Complete a comprehensive membership study and implement the resulting recommendations.
- Execute FBA Regional Fiber Connect events in Scottsdale (October), Kansas City (November), and our Premier Members meeting in Palm Springs (December).
- Execute FBA LATAM’s Fiber Connect event in Bogota, Colombia, in October.
While our mission to connect every home and business with fiber by the end of the decade is clear, we are beginning to gain visibility of the immense fiber opportunity for the next decade and beyond. My excitement and passion for the future of our industry and the FBA continue to grow, fueled by what I believe we can become and the potential contributions we can make to our industry and society. I could not be prouder of the FBA team and their dedication to serving our members and advancing our industry.
To support our staff, the energy and leadership from our over 20 committees and working groups is infectious. Our volunteer leadership and the valuable work products generated from our working groups continues to impress me. We are also so very fortunate that our board of directors, led by FBA Chairwoman Ariane Schaffer (GFiber), is highly engaged and very hands on, working with our committees and working groups, and doing what they can to advance our industry. As an example, FBA’s treasurer and immediate past chair, Jimmy Todd (CEO, Nex-Tech) testified before Congress on September 3, in the House Small Business Committee, discussing the critical role that fiber plays to support the topic of “Wired for Growth: How Expanding Broadband Can Revitalize Rural Small Businesses.” I could not ask for a better team to help advance our industry and raise the quality of life for generations to come.
As always, you can reach me 24/7 on my cell phone (listed below) or by email. If I, or anyone on my staff, can help you and your company accelerate the deployment of fiber, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Sincerely,
