It was a Tuesday. I was fresh out of law school and only a few weeks into my first real job in Washington, D.C. That weekend, I had flown to Boise for a work trip. The ticket was cheap because the flight to DC connected through Phoenix. But after takeoff, we never made the turn south. We were flying slowly and the plane stayed at what seemed like a low altitude. Something must be wrong with the plane, I assumed. Then, about 40 minutes into the flight, the captain made an announcement: Two planes had hit the World Trade Center, the FAA had grounded all flights. We were returning to Boise immediately. It had taken us 40 minutes to get to wherever we were. It seemed to take mere minutes to turn around and get back on the ground.

It was September 11, 2001.

The 2026 NFL season is officially underway, bringing one of television’s biggest audience draws back to screens across the country. As viewing habits evolve, fans have more ways than ever to watch live sports, while networks continue to invest in bringing must-watch programming to audiences across broadcast, cable, and streaming. Last season demonstrated the enduring appeal of live football, with NFL games dominating the year’s most-watched programming and delivering record audiences across platforms.

As American’s celebrate Labor Day, the cable industry’s workforce offers a look at the people behind the broadband networks and television programming millions rely on every day. From technicians building and maintaining broadband infrastructure to the professionals creating and delivering award-winning programming, the industry supports a wide range of careers and skills.

That impact extends across communities nationwide. Cable broadband providers and programmers support hundreds of thousands of jobs directly and through their broader economic activity, helping drive local economies in nearly every congressional district.

Cable investment and next-generation Wi-Fi are behind much of the progress highlighted in the Commission’s latest Section 706 Report.

The FCC’s newly adopted Section 706 Report tells a clear story. The wired and wireless broadband marketplace is working for consumers, with speeds climbing, competitive options multiplying, and the digital divide continuing to narrow, all while prices move in the opposite direction.

TV set-top boxes and home internet devices like modems and routers are doing more than keeping Americans connected – they’re also cutting energy use and saving households billions of dollars.

New independent reports from Evergreen Economics show that in 2025, all of the companies participating in two industry-led voluntary agreements met their energy efficiency commitments, with 100% of new set-top boxes and 99.4% of new home internet equipment meeting the programs’ targets.

As America targets efforts towards connecting every community to robust broadband, cable providers continue to do what they have always done: build out their networks to reach as many Americans as possible.

With network expansions continuing to happen nationwide, here are a few more examples of projects that work towards the national goal of connecting every American. To learn more about what it takes to deliver broadband to rural and far-out communities, watch NCTA’s docufilm “Every Last Mile.”

As more devices compete for bandwidth and consumers expect seamless connectivity throughout the home, the demands on Wi-Fi have never been greater. Today’s households have an average of 20 to 40 connected devices, making speed, capacity, and reliability more important than ever.

At NCTA’s Wi-Fi showcase, Sean Harris, President of eero, discussed how Wi-Fi has evolved over the past decade and demonstrated the company’s latest Wi-Fi 7 portfolio, highlighting how the latest innovations are helping meet the growing demands of today’s connected households.

America’s communications networks connect far more than homes and businesses – they support emergency response, healthcare, transportation, government operations, and other critical services. As attacks on this infrastructure continue to escalate, the consequences extend well beyond damaged cables, disrupting connectivity for millions of Americans and imposing significant economic costs.

As Americans rely on home internet for work, school, healthcare, and entertainment, the value of that connection matters more than ever. Recent data shows consumers continue to get more from their broadband service, with faster speeds, greater reliability, and lower prices than in years past. Continued private investment and innovation have helped improve network performance while keeping home internet an affordable essential service.