Home» TDS plans to double fiber locations by 2024, Gigabit and IPTV continue to grow
TDS announced its 2020 results last week, and the airline’s recent narrative remains relatively unchanged. This narrative includes the growing location of TDS fiber optics, the growing broadband penetration, and the actual increase in video users.
TDS optical fiber locations exceed 300K, and now account for approximately 36% of operators' total 845K cable locations. When TDS CEO James Butman outlined the progress of TDS on the operator’s fourth quarter 2020 earnings call, he said that TDS added approximately 67,000 new fiber optic sites in 2020 and invested The amount is approximately US$130 million.
"It is vital to build these fiber optic networks and quickly connect users to stay ahead of potential competitors," Bootman said in a prepared comment. "We have an active and identified market channel and tested a game plan to plant a flag in a new market, which will further expand our overseas footprint."
TDS fiber locations will grow even more in 2021, and Butman outlined plans to add another 150,000 locations in 2021. According to Vicki Villacrez, TDS's chief financial officer, TDS eventually plans to more than double its fiber position to 620K by 2024. The increasing availability of fiber can help drive other services and revenues.
"In our wired residential bases, including our new overseas markets, 40% of broadband customers are using 100M or higher speeds, compared with 33% a year ago. This helps drive the growth of each connection. Average residential income increased by 5%," Villacreis said, according to Seeking Alpha's transcript.
More than 13% of TDS users now use Gigabit services with higher ARPU. The gigabit penetration rate is rising. According to the latest OpenVault OVBI, the gigabit penetration rate now averages 8.5%, an increase of 301% from 2019. The overall TDS broadband penetration rate has increased by 9% this year.
About 40% of TDS broadband users also choose IPTV. In fact, TDS continues to reverse the larger industry trend of declining video penetration rates. Video subscriptions actually increased by 8%. IPTV is now available to 41% of TDS broadband customers.
TDS still has quite a few DSL positions. About 40% of TDS broadband users can only access speeds of 24 Mbps or lower, and 18% can only get speeds of 10 Mbps or lower. By the end of 2020, TDS residential ARPU reached US$51.33.
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