Telecompetitor reports…

Nearly half of the U.S. population (45%) lacks access to a low-price wired broadband offering, according to a new broadband affordability report from BroadbandNow, the organization that maintains a detailed database of broadband offerings throughout the U.S. The research also showed that people in rural areas pay higher prices and that, ironically, people in areas with higher average income pay less for service.

One of the big findings is that rural areas – or at least areas with lower population density – pay more for broadband, as you can see from the chart below…

Other key findings from the BroadbandNow research:

• Across the 50 states, fiber has the lowest average price per megabit per second – 48 cents, compared with 65 cents for cable and $1.53 for DSL
• States with median household income of at least $60,000 have 78% low-priced plan coverage, on average, compared to only 37% for states with average incomes below $60,000