It’s not quite Abby Anderson or Danny and Sandy but AI and Fiber are having a togetherness moment.
Like video before it, AI applications are driving a need for increased internet speed and capacity for which fiber is uniquely suited. Internet users on fiber networks are consuming dramatically higher downstream and especially upstream amounts of bandwidth than those on DOCSIS infrastructures.
Here’s why that’s important: While passive fiber networks are less prone to maintenance issues than their DOCSIS counterparts, they are by no means foolproof. Signal attenuation, dirty or faulty connectors, water ingress and equipment degradation can hinder fiber user experiences that are needed for maximization of AI utility. So when subscribers are relying on fiber for access to AI tools, performance is more essential than ever.
The latest edition of our OpenVault Broadband Insights (OVBI) report showed just how much the vastly increased bandwidth and speed capabilities of Fiber are changing the game for broadband providers in the AI era. Fiber subscribers’ average total usage in the first quarter of 2026 was 943.4 GB, 30.9% higher than the 720.5 GB recorded by users on DOCSIS networks. In addition:
- Median downstream fiber consumption is 3.15x that of DOCSIS during 6 – 10 PM evening peak hours.
- The fiber upstream average of 106.7 GB was 87.4% higher than the 56.9 GB consumed by subscribers on the systems’ DOCSIS networks.
- Median fiber usage of 721.0 GB topped the DOCSIS median of 496.0 by 45.4%.
Om Malik, who is legendary for his ability to see around technology corners, notes that “ChatGPT reasoning models, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Apple Intelligence, and agentic AI workflows are generating upstream traffic that didn’t exist at scale in 2023. All of it flows to the cloud in the background.” Nokia CEO Justin Hotard has painted a compelling picture of today’s AI load: 77 exabytes per month and approximately 20% of total network traffic, driving 1.3 trillion sessions a year. And Bell Labs forecasts AI traffic growing at a 23% compound annual growth rate through 2034 to 30% of total wide-area network traffic.
In day-to-day terms, that impact is being felt in all walks of life. AIspire tells us that cloud sync accounts for 15–16% of classified upload volume, and up to 25.5% of upload traffic at the 1 Gbps+ tier. In the posh Hamptons on Long Island, properties with confirmed fiber-optic connections are moving faster and commanding higher prices per square foot than equivalent properties without them.
It’s still early days, but the handwriting is on the wall that access to reliable, high bandwidth upstream and downstream connectivity will be crucial for broadband providers as we rely more and more on AI. Is your network ready to meet this challenge?