The FCC releases info on the recent broadband data (Dec 31, 2019)…

The Federal Communications Commission’s Office of Economics and Analytics today released data showing that the digital divide is closing.  At the end of 2019, the number of Americans living in areas without access to terrestrial fixed broadband with speeds of at least 25/3 Mbps—the Commission’s benchmark for high-speed broadband—fell to 14.5 million, a 46% decrease from the end of 2016.  Services at higher speeds saw even more significant deployment, with the number of Americans living in areas without broadband speeds of at least 250/25 Mbps falling by 77% since the end of 2016.  During that three-year period, the number of rural Americans living in areas with 250/25 Mbps broadband service increased by 268%.

And a little more info…

The updated broadband deployment data, based on the FCC’s Form 477 filings, includes fixed terrestrial (including fixed wireless) and mobile broadband deployment at speeds ranging from 10/1 Mbps to 250/25 Mbps. Fixed broadband deployment data are available at https://www.fcc.gov/general/broadband-deployment-data-fcc-form-477 and can be viewed on the National Broadband Map at https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov.  Mobile deployment data are available at https://www.fcc.gov/mobile-deployment-form-477-data.  The Commission will continue its efforts to ensure that all Americans have access to high-quality broadband.

It’s interesting to look at the range of speeds they test from 10/1 to 250/25. First, the range is huge. It’s mind boggling to think that we are calling both 10/1 and 250/25 broadband. I guess we could make the case that they are no longer calling 10/1 broadband but measuring indicates that it’s still on the radar. Second, the upload is 10 percent of the download. That difference seems too great, especially since I often hear that download is consumption and upload is production. I think we are especially seeing this during the pandemic as families are trying to support multiple workers and learners from home.