New paper outlines practical guidance for fiber providers looking to compete beyond price and speed

The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) today announced the release of a new Marketing Best Practices paper, Beyond Price and Speed: Creating Customer Loyalty Through Exceptional Broadband Experiences, developed by the FBA Marketing Committee. The paper provides guidance for fiber broadband providers on how to strengthen customer relationships, reduce churn, and build long-term loyalty through intentional customer experience strategies.

As competition in the broadband market increases, the paper highlights the growing importance of customer experience as a differentiator. While price and speed remain intact, the Marketing Committee notes that trust, reliability, and consistent service across the customer journey increasingly shape how providers are perceived within their communities.

“Fiber providers operate in local markets where reputation matters,” said Kimberly Biddy, Social, Digital, and Traditional Media Manager at EPB and Chair of FBA’s Marketing Committee. “This paper reflects the practical ways providers can use customer experience to reinforce their brand, improve retention, and build trust over time, without relying on discounts or short-term tactics.”

The paper positions customer experience as the day-to-day proof of a provider’s brand promise, beginning well before installation and continuing through billing, support, outages and ongoing service. It emphasizes the value of listening to customers, understanding why they feel the way they do, and using that insight to guide operational and service improvements.

Drawing on lessons from hospitality and consumer brands, the paper outlines how small, repeatable gestures—when supported by clear service principles and empowered frontline teams—can turn routine interactions into loyalty-building moments. It identifies common “moments that matter” for fiber providers, as early as the pre-construction phase, to installation day, the first bill, outage recovery, and customer support interactions, and offers practical examples of how providers can approach each.

A significant portion of the paper focuses on customer listening and measurement. The Marketing Committee recommends that providers conduct one comprehensive customer relationship survey per year, rather than frequent surveys that can introduce noise. The paper includes best practices for survey design, response-rate targets, and guidance on using open-ended feedback to identify patterns, prioritize fixes, and track improvement year over year.

“Understanding the “why” behind customer sentiment is far more valuable than chasing a single source,” said Biddy. “When providers close the loop and show customers how their feedback led to real changes, it strengthens credibility and encourages long-term engagement.”

The paper also highlights why fiber networks are uniquely positioned to deliver strong customer experience. Greater reliability, lower latency, and fewer outages give providers more flexibility to focus on communication, service recovery, and proactive support—areas where small investments can have an outsized impact.

A webinar will be held on March 31^st to explore the paper in greater detail. For more information and register to attend, visit here.

Providers and industry processionals interested in putting these strategies into practice can explore the topic further at Fiber Connect 2026. On May 17^th, the opening day of the conference, FBA will host a Marketing and Customer Experience Pre-Conference Workshop. To learn more and register to attend visit here. To subscribe to FBA’s Fiber Forward Weekly newsletter here to stay updated on the latest industry news.

About the Fiber Broadband Association

The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) is the voice of fiber, helping providers, policy makers, and communities make informed decisions about how, where, and why to build better fiber broadband networks. FBA is the largest and only trade association that represents the complete fiber ecosystem of service providers, manufacturers, industry experts, and deployment specialists. Since 2001, FBA and its members have worked to advance fiber broadband deployment to accelerate innovation and increase quality of life by enabling every community to leverage the economic and societal benefits that only fiber can deliver. The Fiber Broadband Association is part of the Fibre Council Global Alliance, which is a platform of six global FTTH Councils in North America, LATAM, Europe, MENA, APAC, and South Africa. Learn more at fiberbroadband.org.

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