Want economic growth and opportunity? Think you will get it without gigabit fiber? A new study from the Fiber to the Home (FTTH) Council Americas makes the case clearly — cities with gigabit fiber have higher growth.
…[L]ooked at 55 communities in 9 states and found a positive impact on economic activity in the 14 communities where gigabit Internet services are widely available. In fact, these gigabit broadband communities exhibited a per capita GDP approximately 1.1 percent higher than the 41 similar communities with little to no availability of gigabit services — Google Fiber Blog.
Sounds like next to nothing? That’s 1.1 percent more growth per year and every year going forward. Or, put another way, communities with gigabit fiber are compounding their growth rates. Whereas US growth has hovered around 2 percent, these communities are turning in growth 3 percent in the range.
Think that doesn’t matter? Compound growth, like compound interest (ie credit card debt), adds up quickly and an initial small advantage rapidly expands into a real growth gap — in this example about 5 percent after just five years.
That’s 5 percent more with everything else being equal — not working harder or paying more taxes, just more…
Learn more about the benefits of gigabit fiber broadband internet and municipal broadband.
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