In the past decade, fiber optic connections have become the norm, growing increasingly popular and replacing copper wire cable internet connectivity across the continent. This has resulted in improved connection speeds and reliability for many; allowing for better access to remote work, education, fewer outages or throttling, and other conveniences that accompany the technology.

With fiber optic being the superior option for internet connectivity, it’s no wonder that most providers have made the switch wherever possible. But not everyone across the United States and Canada have access to this better connection. In this blog, we take a look at how many people really have fiber optic internet connections.

How connected are we?

The advocacy group Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) found that in 2025 fiber deployment hit around 60% of the United States and 75% of Canada. That is a record high for accessibility to this technology. However, accessibility does not mean adoption.

According to FBA, “take rates are in the mid-40% range… and they continue to trend upward despite aggressive new construction. Markets with two fiber providers reach combined take rates of roughly 60% or more.”

Their prediction is that fiber will be “the leading fixed-internet delivery method as early as 2028.”

Why does this matter to businesses and organizations?

While studies of connectivity are looking at households across the continent, this is no less important for businesses and other consumer or public-facing entities. The internet your customers, clients, patients, or public you serve utilizes makes a difference when interacting with your services.

Services like home security, telehealth, and more are reliant on the speeds provided by fiber internet to work properly, especially with the rise of AI, as AI features are incorporated into virtual services, these connectivity speeds are critical. Likewise, any business that employs remote workers stands to benefit from the conferencing and multi-device benefits of fiber connections.

Overall, the more consumers and members of the workforce have access to fiber connections, the more your business or organization can utilize technology to serve or work with them.