The Connected Nation Blog: State Broadband Inventories and FCC Estimates

By Sarah Graham, Communications Specialist, Connected Nation

With the national broadband map on its way for release next month, a wealth of never-before gathered information on the state of broadband in America will be open for discussion. Speed data, we believe, will be particularly important to examine.

The FCC estimates that 95% of national households have access to – or will soon have – broadband at the national target speeds of 4 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload. At Connected Nation, our advertised speed data for 10 states and Puerto Rico show a different picture, varying greatly from state to state.

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For example, in Alaska, approximately 76 percent of Alaska households have access to 3 Mbps download speeds and approximately 73 percent have access to 6 Mbps download speeds. Comparatively, in Ohio, nearly 98 percent of households report 3 Mbps download speeds and just under 95 percent have access to 6 Mbps download speeds.

Because of the differences, states and the federal government can use this information to determine how the current Universal Service Funds reforms under consideration by the Federal Communications Commission will affect individual states.

Related Links:

Download ‘The State of the Broadband Market’ (pdf)