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Median usage for fiber subscribers is more than triple the downstream bandwidth of DOCSIS subscribers during evening peak hours, according to the 1Q2026 edition of the OpenVault Broadband Insights (OVBI) report.
The latest edition of the report builds on earlier analysis to show how median downstream fiber consumption is 3.15x that of DOCSIS during the four-hour period, and that the highest ratio between fiber and DOCSIS median downstream use is 3.6x at 6 PM. The report also notes that widest absolute gap during any daypart is at 8 PM, when median downstream fiber usage is 1.346 GB for fiber and DOCSIS is at 0.456 GB – a delta of 0.890 GB.
Using data collected by OpenVault's network-agnostic broadband optimization solutions, the 1Q26 OVBI examines the how fiber is becoming a pivotal factor in new consumption trends. The report also uses data from Aispire, a provider of consumption-centric intelligence, to provide insights into applications driving growth, particularly in the upstream.
Among the 1Q26 OVBI findings:
- Power Users – More than a third (33.8%) of fiber customers are consuming 1 TB or more of data per month, an increase of 35.1% over the 25.0% of Power Users on DOCSIS networks.
- Downstream – Average downstream fiber usage was 837.0 GB, 26.1% more than the 664.0 GB recorded by DOCSIS subscribers.
- Usage Drivers – Aispire data shows that cloud sync – especially ChatGPT reasoning models, MS365 Copilot, Apple Intelligence, and agentic AI workflows – is the dominant upstream category at 15–16% of classified upload volume, and up to 25.5% of upload traffic at the 1 Gbps+ tier.
- Residential vs. Non-Residential – Residential subscribers run at a 23:1 download-to-upload ratio, with video comprising 48% of downloads. Non-residential subscribers run at a 7.3:1 ratio with cloud connections accounting for 20% of uploads.
"While almost half of residential traffic is video downloads, non-residential subscribers use cloud services that require symmetric fiber. Thus the two market segments should be modeled separately for capacity planning," the report notes. Further, "as fiber footprints expand, operators should anticipate a structural uplift in overall network demand."
The entire report is at https://openvault.com/resources/ovbi/.
OpenVault executives will be at Fiber Connect 2026 May 17-20 in Nashville and at ANGACOM May 19-21 in Cologne, Germany. Meetings at both shows can be arranged by emailing sales@openvault.com. OpenVault Vice President, Operations Lauren Trudeau will speak on the "Leading the Future: Where Innovation Meets Influence" panel on Wednesday, May 20 (3:00 PM CET) on the ANGACOM Innovation Stage.
About OpenVault
OpenVault and OpenVault Europe GmbH are market-leading sources of network agnostic broadband technology solutions and data-driven insights into worldwide broadband consumption patterns. Using the companies' solutions, service providers can optimize network performance, increase revenue, and improve subscriber satisfaction. OpenVault and OpenVault Europe aggregate and analyze the data collected from broadband networks to provide unparalleled granular views of consumer usage and network health. This data analysis drives a suite of actionable and automated solutions that dramatically improve subscribers' Quality of Experience, providing operators with tremendous value through software while avoiding the need for large-scale infrastructure spending.
For more information, please visit openvault.com.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Kristen Nihamin at knihamin@openvault.com or 917-509-9028
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