Light regulation and large network investments helped increase the number of U.S. residential broadband subscribers from 5 million in 2000 to 80 million in 2008, according to Entropy Economics. Residential bandwidth was 54 times greater in 2008 than 2000, the researchers estimated. Wireless Internet spread broadband nearly everywhere by 2008 and helped foster the smartphone market, pushing broadband demands even higher, it said. "Smarter regulatory policies and big infrastructure investments" will be needed to continue to increase bandwidth for new technologies and applications, according to the study. The FCC is working on a national broadband plan for how best to continue investment in the Internet.
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