96
|
BROADBAND COMMUNITIES
|
www.broadbandcommunities.com
|
JULY 2015
THE GIGABIT HIGHWAY
FTTH Boosts Home Values
A new study commissioned by the FTTH Council Americas shows that access to
fber-delivered Internet boosts home values by up to 3.1 percent.
By Heather Burnett Gold / FTTH Council Americas
I
n June, the Fiber to the Home Council Americas released
a white paper that showed access to fber may increase
a home's value by up to 3.1 percent. Using the National
Broadband Map and a nationwide sample of real estate
prices from 2011 to 2013, the study's authors investigated
the relationship between fber-delivered Internet services and
housing prices. Te boost to the value of a typical home –
$5,437 – is roughly equivalent to adding a freplace, half a
bathroom or a quarter of a swimming pool to the home.
Te new study found that, for homes where 1 Gbps
broadband was available, transaction prices were more than
7 percent higher than for homes located where the highest
speed available is 25 Mbps or lower.
Te study adds to a growing body of research that
demonstrates the consumer benefts from widespread access
to fber broadband Internet. A number of studies have
linked broadband networks and new investments in such
networks to improved economic performance. Te speed
and reliability that fber provides ofer further benefts. Most
recently, in 2014, the FTTH Council released a study that
found higher per capita GDP in communities where gigabit
Internet was available. Infrastructure investment, job creation,
entrepreneurship, and business relocation or expansion are all
manifestations of this growth.
Te evidence is mounting: Investment in fber improves
the economic performance of a community as well as its
quality of life. Around the United States, local leaders
have started to think about how Internet infrastructure in
their communities catalyzes economic, educational and
governmental innovation.
v
Heather Burnett Gold is president and CEO of the Fiber to the
Home Council Americas, a nonproft association whose mission
is to accelerate deployment of all-fber access networks. You can
contact her at heather.b.gold@ftthcouncil.org.
Community Toolkit Program
& Economic Development
Conference Series
C i T l k i P
The FTTH Council's Community Toolkit
helps cities get a jump-start on the
gigabit highway. Don't miss the
Community Toolkit Program in
Lexington, September 16 and 17.
C o n f e r e n c e S e r i e s