Research Shows Fiber Subscribers Making Deeper Use of AI: Recon Analytics
Recon Analytics is finding that the frequency with which consumers access and use AI is tied to how they get online, analyst Roger Entner said last week during a Fiber Broadband Association webinar. Among consumers who use satellite or DSL, only about 10% use AI on a daily basis, compared to 28% for fixed wireless access, 32% for cable and 45% for fiber, he said.
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“People who use AI use fiber, and vice versa,” Entner said. “When you’re happy and have a really solid connection you’re using that connection much more,” he said. The uses of AI also vary, he added. For mobile, FWA, DSL and satellite the top three use cases are web search, topical research and social media posts, he said. For fiber users, the top three are image generation, data analysis and writing assistance. Language translation using AI “is phenomenal,” he said. “It’s the best of translators.”
Consumers must use the right AI model for what they’re trying to achieve, Entner said. “You have to use the right tool for the right job,” he said. ChatGPT is really good for analyzing data sets, while Gemini is very good for writing reports, he said. Claude AI “is very good for summarizing things and contrasting things.”
FBA President Gary Bolton told Entner he recently met with NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth and discussed the Recon Analytics research showing that fiber users are much more active users of AI. Fiber “does matter,” though the Commerce Department has made clear it will fund “two cans and a string” if it meets the minimum standards for BEAD, Bolton said.