$200 billion
invested in cable infrastructure since 1996
$23 billion
invested by Verizon in its FiOS fiber network since 2004
$14 billion
invested by AT&T in U-Verse fiber-to-the node, 2012-15
$30 billion
invested in 4G wireless networks in 2012 alone
$140 billion
Estimated cost for Google Fiber to cover the entire country
But…
$7 billion
in Federal stimulus money in the 2009 stimulus act, the high-water mark for “investment” of Federal taxpayer dollars
$1.1 trillion
2012 Federal deficit, down from $1.3 trillion in 2011