September 16, 2026
Fiber-fueled networks connect the innovation economy as investment posts third-highest annual total on record
Washington, D.C. (September 16, 2026) – America’s broadband providers invested $92.6 billion in U.S. communications infrastructure in 2025, a 3.4% increase over 2024 and the third-highest annual total since 2003, according to the 2025 Broadband Capex Report released today by USTelecom – The Broadband Association. Cumulative industry investment now approaches $2.3 trillion since 1996, extending the strongest sustained era of network investment on record.
“Fiber isn’t just wiring for today’s internet – it’s the load-bearing infrastructure for whatever comes next,” said Jonathan Spalter, President and CEO of USTelecom. “Every gigabyte moving upstream is proof that America’s innovation economy is being built in real time, and providers are meeting the moment with real capital. Now Congress needs to do its part: pass permitting reform so the providers ready to build can build, and every American – especially in rural communities – gets connected to future-proofed fiber internet.”
The report ties this investment to a fundamental shift in how networks are used. Average monthly broadband usage reached 767.4 gigabytes per subscriber in 2025, up 9.9% year-over-year, and Cisco projects AI and agentic AI adoption could drive a 6.6-fold increase in consumer network traffic by 2035. More strikingly, upstream usage — prompts, photos, video, and sensor data flowing back into the network — rose 21.7% in 2025, more than double the growth rate of overall traffic, as networks built for one-way streaming adapt to an increasingly two-way, AI-driven internet. Fiber’s ability to deliver matching capacity in both directions, the report notes, makes it central to that shift, along with the 5G, fixed wireless, and satellite networks that depend on fiber backhaul.
“In 2025, providers extended an era of historically high broadband industry investment — expanding rural reach, modernizing wireless networks, adding capacity, and pushing fiber deeper into communities,” the report states. “At its core, this investment reflects broadband providers’ sustained commitment to ensuring that the opportunities created by American innovation reach every community.”
Read the report here.