Economic implications of FTTH networks: A cross-sectional analysis

Individuals and businesses are becoming ever more reliant on advanced telecommunications technologies that provide increased bandwidth capabilities. Because fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) enables the technology necessary to facilitate such things as sophisticated computer-aided design and advanced system integration, drastic improvements in efficiency of technology-intensive business processes and communication are expected. In an effort to empirically assess the economic impact of FTTH at the community level, this study employed a quantitative design using cross-sectional data collected for 16 experimental communities as well as for 16 matched control cities. The findings of this research are seemingly reflective of potential economic improvements that could arise if FTTH is present in a community. Specifically, annual employment rate, mean annual household income, and educational attainment were found to be significantly higher in experimental cities as compared to control cities. These results offer some insights regarding policy-making efforts at the federal, state, and local levels.