The broadband industry trends emerging in 2026 centre on a fundamental tension. Massive federal funding promises record expansion while supply chain constraints and regulatory chaos threaten to derail deployment.
After spending a week at the Broadband Nation Expo in Orlando, I can tell you that this industry is about to discover whether ambition meets reality.
The conference typically happens in Washington D.C., but this year they moved it to Florida. Possibly to soften the blow of what everyone was discussing: a $42 billion government programme that's creating opportunity and uncertainty at the same time.
I was apparently the only non-American in attendance, which gave me an interesting vantage point on the particularly American flavour of bureaucratic complexity everyone was navigating.
Here are seven broadband industry trends I observed that will shape 2026.
Trend 1: BEAD funding creates opportunity and uncertainty in equal measure
BEAD - the Broadband Equity, Accessibility and Deployment programme – was a major topic of conversation at the conference. This $42 billion federal fund is administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
Why was everyone so focused on it? Because applications were being approved and rejected during the actual conference week. Some applications had to go through multiple rounds of approvals, leaving many ISPs in limbo wondering if their projects would still be viable.
Rules that keep changing
The programme initially showed strong preference for fibre deployment. Makes sense - fibre is more reliable and has better capacity.
That preference was removed.
This benefits satellite providers and changes the entire technology mix in funded projects. The NTIA also removed a requirement to provide low-cost options for consumers. In addition, NTIA had been suggesting a chance to the rules that would remove BEAD funding from states with AI regulations deemed "too onerous,". Fortunately, this change hasn’t been implemented at publication time.
This is all happening after organisations submitted applications. Some even got approval already.
BABA compliance adds complexity
To qualify for BEAD funding, your entire supply chain must meet Build American, Buy American (BABA) requirements. This limits procurement options and affects costs, particularly as domestic fibre production struggles to meet demand.
Still, there's real opportunity. BEAD is driving substantial ISP activity:
- New ISPs emerging to pursue grants
- Existing providers expanding service areas
- Legacy systems getting upgrades (more on that later)
Major players securing allocations include AT&T, Brightspeed, Verizon, and Spectrum. We’re working with all of these organizations, and we’re excited about their projected growth plans as they invest in bridging the digital divide.
Trend 2: Mergers, acquisitions, and railway robbery
The BEAD funding landscape is accelerating mergers and acquisitions. There's been pent-up demand for M&A activity because of tariffs and general regulatory unpredictability. But some big deals are finally happening.
Major consolidation examples:
- Comcast and Cox merger - Requires federal government approval because of its scale
- AT&T acquiring Lumen fibre assets - Lumen provides significant backbone infrastructure
These deals show major players consolidating in response to new funding realities and infrastructure demands.
Then there's the railway problem
Here's something I wasn't expecting to hear so much about: railways.
When ISPs want to expand fibre service, they often need to place cables along railway rights-of-way or route under railway crossings.
To gain access to these locations, ISPs are required to pay railway companies fees that can sometimes exceed $500,000 per mile. That can create a major financial burden for small ISPs that might receive a BEAD grant of $600,000 to connect an underserved rural area.
As a result, new legislation - the Rail Act - specifically addresses railway right-of-way fees for broadband deployment.
Trend 3: Fibre capacity constraints threaten deployment timelines
This is possibly the most concerning broadband industry trend I observed. Multiple demand drivers are converging to create a fibre shortage that could become the primary bottleneck in 2026.
Data centres are eating all the fibre
There are 573 new data centres projected in the US over the next four years.
Each one requires substantial fibre connectivity. That's massive new demand competing with BEAD deployments and existing telecommunications needs.
Some of these projects, such as the $500 Billion Stargate project in Texas, are enormous. These are transformational infrastructure builds.
Here's an interesting wrinkle: Data centres don't require BABA-compliant fibre. But imported fibre - mostly from China - costs 35% more due to tariffs.
The math doesn't work
Kate Lummus from Superior Essex showed a slide with domestic fibre capacity plotted against projected demand. The graph was not encouraging.
What's needed:
- BEAD deployment alone: 200,000+ fibre miles
- Add data centre demand
- Add ongoing telecommunications infrastructure needs
What's available:
- Not enough
Lead times for fibre procurement may reach 106 weeks. That matches delays we experienced during COVID-era supply chain disruptions.
Labour shortages compound the problem
It's not just fibre. There's intense competition for skilled labour to actually install and deploy infrastructure. Data centres are pulling workers from traditional broadband deployment projects. This creates additional timeline pressure beyond the material shortages.
Alternative solutions gain traction
The fibre shortage is accelerating interest in alternatives. Wireless infrastructure for critical applications becomes more attractive when fibre lead times stretch past two years. ISPs are evaluating where wireless solutions can serve as interim connectivity or permanent alternatives in challenging deployment environments.
This connects to the fixed wireless expansion I'll discuss in Trend 6.
The shipment data tells the story
Domestic cable shipments peaked during COVID as everyone invested in connectivity. In 2023, shipments dropped sharply - companies were working through inventory accumulated during over-ordering.
Now shipments are rising again, approaching COVID-era peaks. But this time the demand appears sustainable rather than speculative.
The question: can production scale quickly enough to meet 2026-2027 deployment schedules? Nobody I talked to seemed confident about the answer.
Trend 4: Bandwidth consumption keeps accelerating
Many people expected bandwidth demand growth to plateau after COVID. Everyone went back to the office, streaming subscriptions matured, remote work stabilised.
That plateau never happened.
Average monthly data usage continues climbing. I found this genuinely surprising. Even when we were all at home streaming Netflix during COVID, we weren’t using as much broadband as we are today.
Here’s what’s driving it:
Sports streaming: In the US, American football alone generates massive traffic spikes. The quality expectations have shifted dramatically - what was acceptable three years ago now seems inadequate. This pattern extends globally wherever major sporting events occur.
Online gaming: Large-scale gaming events create visible spikes in traffic data. Xbox Live and similar platforms show consistent baseline traffic growth. Gaming is more graphically sophisticated and more social than ever.
AI-generated video: This is the newest driver. When OpenAI launched Sora 2, broadband networks registered a noticeable traffic increase.
AI video generation is essentially an infinite content creation machine. Users are embracing it enthusiastically - or at least using it prolifically. Traffic from AI video platforms already rivals Xbox Live in some measurements. These are relatively new services.
This matters because ISPs building infrastructure for 2026 deployment can't plan for plateau conditions. Bandwidth demand isn't slowing down. It's accelerating.
Trend 5: AI in network management - less hype, more practicality
I've been to several technology conferences in 2025. Earlier in the year, AI dominated every conversation. Vendors promoted AI capabilities for everything imaginable.
The Broadband Expo was different. The language around AI was noticeably more measured. Significantly less hyperbolic. People focused on specific operational benefits rather than transformational promises.
T-Mobile demonstrated something genuinely useful: their system detects cable breaks using pattern analysis and dispatches repair crews before customers notice service degradation.
This is proactive maintenance. It reduces downtime. It improves reliability. It doesn't require fundamental changes to network architecture.
Other practical applications:
- Fault detection
- Capacity planning
- Traffic optimisation
These are just incremental improvements in operational efficiency. But incremental improvements in network uptime matter.
The more measured approach suggests the industry is moving past breathless AI enthusiasm towards practical implementation. Network operators are deploying AI where it demonstrably improves operations.
Trend 6: Fixed wireless expands beyond rural areas
Fixed wireless has traditionally served rural areas where fibre deployment economics don't work. That's changing.
Fixed wireless appears to be gaining traction in suburban and even urban markets.
The technology still represents a small percentage of overall broadband connections. But growth rates are substantial. Major providers including T-Mobile are expanding aggressively.
Why the expansion now?
The fibre shortage creates an opening. When lead times stretch past 100 weeks and labour costs spike, fixed wireless becomes attractive for several reasons:
Faster deployment: There’s no need for trenching or railway negotiations, and no dealing with BABA compliance headaches.
Lower capital requirements: Particularly appealing for ISPs trying to stretch BEAD funding across larger service areas.
Competitive pressure: If your competitor can offer service in six months using fixed wireless while you're waiting two years for fibre, that's a business problem.
Fixed wireless as complement, not replacement
This surprised me initially. Fixed wireless isn't a fibre replacement in terms of capacity and reliability. ISPs aren’t abandoning fibre plans.
But they’re recognizing fixed wireless as a complement. In markets where fibre shortages delay deployment, fixed wireless provides interim connectivity. In challenging deployment environments – think areas with difficult goegraphy or regulatory obstacles – it can serve as a permanent solution.
The fibre capacity constraints discussed in Trend 3 are making wireless infrastructure for critical applications more strategically important than it's been historically.
Trend 7: Authentication infrastructure struggles to keep pace
This is where I got particularly interested. As ISPs expand subscriber bases and upgrade network capacity, authentication infrastructure must scale accordingly.
At the conference, I spoke with an ISP executive who mentioned his company's authentication system was 16 years old. Overdue for replacement, in his words.
This isn't isolated. Many ISPs run decade-old FreeRADIUS installations that were perfectly adequate for their original deployment scale. Now they struggle with current demands.
This matters now because:
- BEAD funding drives subscriber base growth.
- Multi-gigabit speeds increase simultaneous authentication sessions.
- AI-driven network management requires modern, API-enabled platforms.
- Legacy systems become operational liabilities.
New ISPs face different challenges
New ISPs entering the market through BEAD funding need authentication infrastructure from the start. They're making decisions about whether to deploy traditional systems or adopt platforms that integrate with contemporary network operations tools.
There’s a consolidation opportunity here. Many ISPs run separate systems for:
- RADIUS authentication
- DHCP address management
- TACACS+ device administration
Consolidating these under a single vendor reduces operational complexity. It simplifies troubleshooting when problems occur.
As
someone who works in network authentication, watching ISPs grapple with
scaling challenges while sitting on systems built when I was in
university is fascinating. And concerning.
The
broadband industry has substantial funding and clear demand drivers. It
also has significant operational challenges that will test even
well-prepared organisations.
What I took away from Orlando
Here's what stood out to me:
Securing funding is easier than deploying networks. Railway fees, NTIA policy changes, and BABA compliance create friction. Supply chain constraints around fibre threaten to become the limiting factor regardless of how much money you have.
Bandwidth demand isn't slowing down. Sports streaming, gaming, and AI-generated content keep pushing requirements higher. Data centres add massive infrastructure needs that compete with ISP requirements for limited fibre production.
The complaints are more revealing than the celebrations. When railway access fees and NTIA unpredictability dominate conference conversations, you realise that the easy part - securing funding - is behind us.
The difficult part - actually building networks under shifting requirements and supply constraints - is just beginning.
New market segments are emerging
An interesting side note: municipal broadband came up in several conversations. Some municipalities are providing broadband services directly as a utility rather than relying on commercial ISPs. This creates a unique customer segment with different purchasing dynamics and requirements.
The debate over broadband as a utility versus commercial service remains contentious. But it's happening regardless of the debate. We're watching this space closely.
For organisations managing network infrastructure, 2026 will require careful planning around supply chain commitments. You need flexible deployment strategies that account for regulatory uncertainty. And you need operational infrastructure that can scale with network growth.
The ISPs that succeed won't necessarily be those with the largest BEAD awards. They'll be the ones who anticipated these challenges and built operational resilience before problems became crises.
Also, for what it's worth, if you're running authentication infrastructure that's older than some of your engineers, we should probably talk.
Need help?
InkBridge Networks has been at the forefront of network infrastructure for over two decades, tackling complex challenges across various protocols. Our team of seasoned experts has encountered and solved nearly every conceivable network access issue. If you're looking for insights from the architects behind some of the internet's most foundational authentication systems, you can request a quote here.
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