Capital expenditures by U.S. broadband providers surged to over $86 billion in 2021, according to US Telecom's 2021 Broadband Capex Report. US Telecom's report was released on July 18.
The $86.1 billion annual capex total is particularly remarkable considering the economic difficulties that broadband providers faced in 2021, including microchip shortages, labor shortages, supply chain problems, and the ramping up of inflation. The $86.1 billion in capex for 2021 significantly exceeded the $79.4 annual expenditure total for broadband providers in 2020. (For more on that, see US Telecom's 2020 Broadband Capex Report.) According to US Telecom's 2021 report, U.S. broadband providers have invested over $2 trillion in network infrastructure since 1996. In past reports, US Telecom has pointed out that these estimates likely are conservative because they exclude annual investment by small U.S. broadband providers as well as U.S. satellite broadband providers.
Continuing strong investment is clear indicator of a healthy and competitive broadband services market. (On July 1 of this year, the Free State Foundation offered many other data points about the market's vibrancy in comments it filed in the FCC's 2022 Communications Marketplace Report proceeding.) Importantly, the massive capital expenditure reported by US Telecom is expanding access to next-generation broadband services and delivering faster and more reliable speeds to more Americans.
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