Fiber Broadband Association reports record growth at Fiber Connect 2026

The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) announced record membership at its Fiber Connect 2026 conference, adding 40 new companies and bringing total members to more than 8,000 broadband professionals – a 16% year‑over‑year increase. The association supports over 1,900 delegates from member firms and launched the FBA Academy, an on‑demand training platform for technicians, as well as a partnership with AARP’s Senior Planet program to extend high‑speed fiber and digital‑skills training to older Americans.

FBA President Gary Bolton highlighted that the United States now has fiber to over 100 million homes, with 11.8 million new connections in 2025 alone, and 1,561 active fiber providers, including 42 new entrants and 715 companies that doubled their footprints in the last six months. Regional providers, electric co‑ops and municipal networks accounted for 40% of deployments last year. Bolton warned of a looming workforce gap, estimating a need for more than 200,000 additional workers to sustain fiber build‑out, while noting that AI investment by major hyperscalers totals roughly $370 billion annually and will require three times more fiber route miles and data‑center capacity.