U.S. FTTx rollouts have entered a “do more, faster” phase. Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) figures show that fiber builds reached record levels in 2024. 10.3 million homes were passed, pushing the national footprint to nearly 88.1 million by early 2025. Growth is forecast to remain strong through 2029. At the same time, the $42.45 billion BEAD program is moving from planning to execution. Funds have been allocated to all states and territories to accelerate construction. RVA LLC Market Research & Consulting research for FBA forecasts ~$167B in U.S. FTTH capex 2025–2029.  RVA’s “North American Fiber Broadband Report: FTTH Review and Forecast 2025–2029,” predicting peak FTTH deployment through 2029 with 65% of consumers now preferring fiber.

However, there’s one issue making ubiquitous fiber significantly harder to achieve: a widening workforce gap. To meet federal and state goals, the FBA estimates the market needs some 58,000 additional broadband tradespeople right now—and another 120,000 over the next ten years. Over 60% of current fiberoptic technicians are nearing retirement, shrinking the field workforce and the pool of experienced trainers. Furthermore, many regions lack vocational programs tailored for fiber-optic installation, splicing, and testing—leaving training gaps. A Department of Commerce report reinforces the urgency, noting a need for 205,000 additional fiber technicians to avoid deployment delays of 18 months or more.

Programs are underway to expand training pipelines and apprenticeship programs and recruit candidates. However, labor shortages are already creating performance bottlenecks in outside-plant construction, splicing, and aerial/underground work even before the full BEAD rollout. Even if the number of technicians increases significantly and rapidly, it’s questionable whether the workforce will be able to keep up with fast-growing demand.

Reducing reliance on skilled staff

The lack of experts is a key reason why pre-terminated, or pre-connectorized, fiber is gaining traction. Pre-terminated kits allow smaller, less-specialized crews to achieve more placements per day. It eases the labor bottleneck by reducing reliance on fusion splicers and highly skilled technicians.

Compared with traditional field splicing and termination, pre-terminated fiber brings other advantages that provide a direct answer to today’s rollout pressures. Speed is the most obvious: factory-terminated access systems can significantly reduce or even eliminate vast numbers of field splices, which means faster rollouts and shorter time to revenue. Working with closures which are pre-tested and ready for installation means savings on personnel, assembly costs, training, and work preparation. Fiber rollouts can be implemented up to two and a half times faster. Suppliers can set up access network in just a few weeks. Combining hardened, plug-and-play connector systems with pre-terminated terminals and closures streamlines outside-plant builds, shortens permit windows, reduces lane closures, and minimizes disruption in MDUs and dense urban streets.

Quality control

FTTx networks extend all the way to poles, pedestals, facades, and underground handholes—locations exposed to moisture, dust, UV, and temperature swings. Sealed and ruggedized Harsh Environment Connectors (HECs) help maintain optical performance under these conditions. Installing and polishing connectors in the field is error-prone, especially in rain, cold, or in roadside cabinets. Factory polishing and testing delivers more consistent results, higher first-pass success rates, and fewer costly truck rolls.

Shifting critical termination from the great outdoors into controlled environments sidesteps weather and field constraints that undermine splice quality, from wind and dust to humidity and temperature swings. In aerial and drop cable installations, hardened connectors can also be employed to withstand typical repeated mating/demating cycles, vibrations, and pulling stress.

The power of standardization

The Fiber Optic Association underscores how standards facilitate interoperability by detailing component-level specs down to connectors making products intermateable. This ensures drop cables, terminals, or trunks fit correctly regardless of vendor. Standardized interfaces—IEC 61754 (e.g., SC, MPO), TIA-604 FOCIS, and TIA-568.3-E—ensure connectors and cords from different suppliers intermate and meet defined performance, protecting operators from single-vendor traps. Connectors built/tested to these specs intermate reliably across vendors, reducing variability issues between from sites, splicing conditions, and techniques. Factory certification reduces rework and callbacks, freeing scarce tech hours for new builds instead of fixes. In a supply-constrained market, open-standard components let buyers dual-source without redesigning.

Cutting costs, accelerating rollouts

Today’s broadband infrastructure demands—driven by BEAD, IIJA, 5G, FTTx, and data center construction —are growing far faster than the workforce pipeline. Pre-terminated connectivity cuts build time by as much as 50%, reduces need for scarce splicing talent, improves first-pass quality, and accelerates revenue. Even greater benefits can be realized by using open, standards-based components (IEC/TIA/GR-326) to avoid lock-in and keep supply flexible.

Sustained record fiber builds, BEAD funding developments, and an acute workforce gap make these solutions especially valuable right now. Crews can “plug and play” hardened drops into terminals without needing splicers or shelters—saving hours per installation and accelerating mass FTTH rollouts. What’s more, reduced rework, fewer truck rolls, and longer connector life all cut OPEX for operators.

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About the Author

Paulo Campos is President at R&M USA Inc.