Broadband as a 4th Utility

Parks Associates estimates over 111 million US households will have broadband internet access by year-end 2021. ISPs are on track to add 6M new subscriptions.

Over the past decade, broadband adoption in the United States – here defined as internet subscription adoption to the home or individual, with faster than dial-up speeds – has grown steadily since 2015. Broadband households may have fixed-broadband service or may rely on mobile broadband, or a combination of the two.

The data on this slide are Parks Associates estimates, informed by government figures, publically released provider figures, and other secondary research sources. Survey data presented in the rest of the deck are applicable to this segment of US households that have broadband internet access.

Both the residential broadband and mobile industries experienced substantial growth during 2020 and into the first half of 2021. Demand was particularly strong for high-speed internet and fiber connections.