Category Archives: Research

RESEARCH: To what extent does community-level broadband connectivity reduce the time individuals spend waiting for goods and services?

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There is an interesting scholarly article (Time poverty, waiting, and broadband adoption: Evidence from the US by gender and income) on the impact of broadband access on people’s discretionary time. In a nod to time-saving, I tried to think of the most efficient way to share the information and focus on broadband access while flagging other related topics in the article.

Here’s the promise of the research, in bullet points…

  • Time poverty, or the lack of time to invest in discretionary activities aimed at maintaining one’s physical or mental well-being, has long been a human concern (Kalenkoski & Hamrick, 2013; Vickery, 1977).
  • We examine waiting time because, differently from time devoted to other activities, which may reflect personal preferences, waiting time is almost universally disliked and has no intrinsic benefit (Holt & Vinopal, 2023; Schwartz, 1974).
  • Through this lens, high-speed broadband connections constitute a critical first step in efforts to expand communities’ access to goods and services, minimize waiting, and free up time for more fulfilling activities (Turner & Grieco, 2000).
  • Our analysis finds a significant association between living in counties with higher broadband adoption levels and reduced time spent waiting for goods and services. The effect is particularly pronounced among women, who are disproportionately responsible for time-intensive, unpaid household labor (Brenan, 2020). Yet, we also suggest that complementary policy interventions may be necessary to mitigate time disparities across socio-economic lines.

And a look at ROI (when return in time) from a government/citizen perspective…

Addressing waiting-based inefficiencies calls for targeted solutions, and broadband and digital technologies offer one. To this extent, tax return–free filing programs that integrate administrative data could save Americans an estimated 225 million hours annually, while online voter registration cuts administrative burdens and boosts turnout by reducing long heavy processes (Goolsbee, 2006; Herd & Moynihan, 2018). Similarly, remote work saves the average person 72 min of commuting each day, allowing individuals to reallocate time to leisure and caregiving (Aksoy et al., 2023).

Yet, these time-saving gains hinge on both the provision of digital services online and citizens being able to take advantage of those through reliable internet connections (Mossberger et al., 2022). Consequently, broadband operates as the foundational infrastructure enabling both the delivery and use of digital services. In other words, lacking broadband, citizens, businesses, and governments cannot effectively use online services while digital service provision becomes impractical.

Recognizing this, federal and state policymakers in the United States have invested significantly in digital infrastructure – most notably through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the American Rescue Plan Act – to extend broadband to every household. These place-based strategies reflect a growing understanding that broadband is not just a technological solution, but a foundational element of equitable service delivery and local development. As such, we argue that, similarly to other place-based characteristics, broadband adoption can shape individual outcomes through institutions, resources, and community dynamics (Chyn & Katz, 2021)

And their hypotheses:

  • As broadband subscriptions increase within a county, the amount of time residents spend waiting for goods and services decreases.
  • The negative relationship between county-level broadband adoption and waiting times is stronger among women than among men.
  • The negative relationship between county-level broadband adoption and waiting times is stronger among low-income individuals than among higher-income individuals.
  • The negative relationship between county-level broadband adoption and waiting times is strongest among low-income women.

Government Accountable Office looks at IIJA and IRA

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The GAO (Government Accountable Office) reports…

The IIJA and IRA provided billions in federal funding to agencies to distribute through mechanisms like grants and loans. Beginning in January 2025, executive orders directed agencies to pause this funding to review it for consistency with administration priorities. Grant recipients have raised concerns that delays in distributing these funds affect their ability to implement their projects.

GAO was asked to review the status of IIJA and IRA funding. This report describes selected agencies’ (1) IIJA and IRA budget authority, obligations, rescissions, and disbursements for fiscal years 2022 to 2025; (2) processes for reviewing IIJA and IRA funding in response to executive orders; and (3) IIJA and IRA funding review status.

To address these objectives, GAO selected agencies with among the highest amount of combined IIJA and IRA funding. Of these agencies, GAO selected EPA, Interior, NTIA, and DOT for this report. GAO will report on the Department of Energy and Department of Agriculture separately.

GAO analyzed the IIJA and IRA and financial data from agencies’ accounting systems and the agencies’ policies and guidance for reviewing IIJA and IRA funding. GAO also analyzed and summarized selected agency review data and found these data to be sufficiently reliable for the purpose of describing the status of reviews with some limitations. For example, EPA and NTIA did not provide all requested data. GAO also interviewed selected agency officials for each of the objectives.

Here’s what they found…

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provided budget authorities for transportation, infrastructure, and energy projects. Together, the four agencies selected for this review—the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of the Interior (Interior), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and Department of Transportation (DOT)—obligated a majority of their IIJA or IRA funding.

  • IIJA. Of the approximately $574.7 billion provided to them, the four agencies obligated about 76 percent and disbursed about 54 percent of obligated funds for fiscal years 2022 to 2025.
  • IRA. Of the around $53.7 billion provided to them, EPA, Interior, and DOT obligated about 72 percent and disbursed about 60 percent of obligated funds for fiscal years 2022 through 2025. In July 2025, Congress rescinded $6.4 billion of the three agencies’ unobligated IRA funds per agencies’ data.

Most selected agencies reported developing new processes to review IIJA and IRA funding in response to dozens of executive orders issued starting January 20, 2025. The agencies used a variety of approaches to implement reviews, such as searching for terms from executive orders like “diversity” or “environmental justice.” Senior leadership for all selected agencies made final decisions on whether awards should be approved without modification, modified (funded with changes to terms or amounts), or canceled (discontinued), according to selected agencies’ officials and documentation. The extent to which agencies continued to obligate and disburse IIJA and IRA funds during their reviews varied within and across agencies.

As a result of their reviews, selected agencies reported approving about 9,500 awards ($128 billion) and canceling about 800 ($17.8 billion). More than 2,500 awards were pending a decision ($33.6 billion) as of varying dates shown below.

Status of Selected Agencies’ Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act Funding Reviews, as of the Dates Indicated

Minnesota Supercomputing Institute using AI and Tiny Worms for Discovery

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I found this fascinating, from the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute,,,

What if artificial intelligence could help scientists discover new drugs for healthy aging?

Thomas Hodder, the Life Sciences & Engineering Runner-Up at this year’s Research Computing Exhibition, is developing new ways to identify compounds that may promote healthy aging. Hodder created an AI-powered imaging process that measures heat stress resistance, a trait strongly linked to longevity, in the microscopic worm C. elegans

Traditional lifespan experiments can take weeks and require significant manual effort. Hodder’s approach automates much of the process, allowing researchers to rapidly screen thousands of compounds and identify promising candidates more efficiently. Using this method, his team discovered 14 previously unknown drugs that extend worm lifespan.

One of the biggest challenges was developing and validating the assay itself. Hodder spent nearly two years refining the method before it was ready to detect potential drug candidates. Throughout that process, he relied on high-performance computing resources from the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute to process large imaging datasets, test software, and store research data.

Minnesota ranks 18 for average cost of broadband (highest cost being number 1)

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BroadbandNow has released the results of a recent survey on broadband pricing and today’s budgets. The good news is that most households have not seen a recent price increase. The bad news is that nearly a quarter of those surveyed say the bill stresses their budgets. It’s worth nothing that the survey included 954 adults, but the results are interesting. Here are the highlights:

  • The national average monthly cost for a home internet plan is $81.16. Prices range from $65.43 in New Jersey to $109.88 in Alaska.
  • Though most households have not experienced recent internet service price hikes, nearly 1 in 4 Americans (23%) say internet bills stress their household budgets.
  • 1 in 5 Americans (19%) worry about paying their internet bill each month; that number spikes to 41% among former ACP recipients.
  • Women are nearly twice as likely as men to worry about affording internet service (24% vs. 14%).
  • 1 in 5 households (19%) say their current internet plan doesn’t meet their needs, rising to 28% among former ACP households.

Minnesota ranks 18 for average cost of broadband.

And while I’m looking at BroadbandNow, here’s what they say about Minnesota. (You can learn more about them; their stated goal is to help people compare broadband providers.)

Mankato Free Press says Generation Alpha choosing AI-compatible professions

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The Mankato Press reports…

While headlines are filled with fears of jobs being lost to artificial intelligence, the classrooms at institutions such as South Central College will soon be filled with students studying for jobs that won’t be eliminated by AI.
…
Specifically, it’s for Generation Alpha, which AI application Gemini describes as students born between 2013 and 2024, that post-secondary schools are preparing for now. That age group includes Post-Secondary Education Option students able to get credit while finishing high school.

Preceding them are baby boomers, Generation X, millennials and Generation Z/Zoomers, each with their own characteristics represented in society.

As people who have grown up in a world of AI, streaming media and virtual realities, Generation Alpha is looking ahead, choosing professions that are, as Raju described them, “AI adjacent” or “AI compatible.” Ultimately, however, not susceptible to being eliminated by AI.

What does that mean on a practical basis?

The New York Post reported a survey commissioned by footwear maker Red Wing and conducted by Talker Research that shows this.

In a survey of 2,000 parents of Generation Alpha children ages 5-16, it was found 85% were already thinking about jobs and wanting them to be hands on. Specifically, 90% want jobs where they can help people and 87% want them to be creative positions.

This describes many of the jobs that Raju described as working with AI but needing a human touch. That includes jobs such as barber, HVAC installer or medical technician where AI can be used to analyze the situation and solution, but cannot actually do them.

It also describes many of the jobs that were emphasized when schools such as SCC were called vocational schools and today are referred to as community and technical colleges, as well as jobs that have been in greater demand as students pursued four-year degrees instead of technical education.

Fiber Broadband Association updates FCC on fiber deployment stats

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The Fiber Association updates the FCC on fiber deployment based on their 2025 report…

As the Commission considers adopting its Nineteenth Section 706 Report, the Fiber
Broadband Association submits the following updated market statistics to facilitate a data-driven
assessment:
• For fixed broadband supply, as of year-end 2025, ~84.6M US homes (~60% of total homes) were passed by fiber, an annual growth rate of ~11%; ~39.3M homes were connected;1 as of September 2025, ~13.8M homes (~16% of total homes) had access to multiple fiber providers, an annual growth rate of ~16%.2
• For fixed broadband demand, as of Q1 2026, ~95% of fiber subscribers and ~89% of subscribers on DOCSIS networks were provisioned for 200 Mbps or faster service; ~37%
of fiber and DOCSIS subscribers were provisioned for service between 500-900 Mbps; and ~22% of fiber and DOCSIS subscribers were provisioned for gigabit service. Fiber subscribers used an average of 837.0 GB per month downstream and 106.68 GB upstream.3
We also note that the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally reshaping fixed broadband network traffic patterns and infrastructure requirements – and consequently, will require the Commission in future Section 706 Reports to reorient its definition of “advanced telecommunications capability” and analysis of whether advanced telecommunications capability being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion.

Telehealth helps with access to mental healthcare for rural Minnesota’s communities of color – when they have broadband

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A recent publication from the Center for Rural Policy reports…

Rural Minnesota is changing. Across its small towns and open landscapes, people of color are becoming a larger part of the community—some newly arrived from other countries, others whose families have called this region home for generations.

As our previous research has shown (here and here), finding help for mental health concerns can be a struggle for anyone living in rural areas, but it can be even harder for BIPOC residents (Black, Indigenous and People of Color). Whether they are recent immigrants trying to navigate an unfamiliar system or long-time Minnesotans seeking care that understands their experiences, the challenges of finding accessible mental health services that meet their needs remain significant.

This makes access difficult…

While statewide outpatient statistics are not readily available, national evidence shows that rural residents face longer drives to outpatient clinics. The greater distance between communities and the sparse population of smaller towns create adverse economies of scale that increase the cost of providing services. This in turn has led to clinic closures and healthcare consolidation, further squeezing the supply of services over the years as healthcare companies try to keep revenue ahead of expenses. The closures also result in even longer drives to receive services. …

A lack of transportation or public transportation also limits people in rural areas,[3] who are more likely to not have their own vehicles or are unable to drive due to age, income, or disability even as the distances patients need to travel to get services continue to increase. According to a 2024 Minnesota Department of Health report on the state of rural healthcare, rural patients seeking inpatient mental health and chemical dependency treatment must travel three times farther than their urban counterparts.[4]

But while these challenges are tough for all rural families looking for help, they are even greater for people of color.

The report offers several recommendations for improvement, including telehealth for those with adequate broadband…

Telehealth can especially help rural people of color access appropriate, effective mental healthcare, says Terica Toliver, Senior Director of Clinical Therapy at Louisiana-based Iris Telehealth, which provides therapy via telehealth through her contract with ElevaCare in Southwest Minnesota. Telehealth gives people of color a broader range of providers to choose from, including providers who share the same racial and cultural backgrounds.

It’s not a perfect solution, however. Hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans don’t have access to the broadband internet service required for telehealth to work reliably,[26] and telehealth isn’t for everyone. Some patients simply don’t feel comfortable talking to a stranger about their mental health on a digital screen.

In 2024 77 percent of E-Rate dollars went to the highest-need category

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Broadband Clusters reports on a powerful way that the federal government has had to help schools get broadband to those who are less likely to have access at home…

Every year, the federal government helps schools and libraries pay their internet bills through a program called E-Rate, part of the Universal Service Fund. In 2024, it approved $2.76 billion in discounts for 21,102 institutions across the country: 18,507 schools and school districts, and 2,595 libraries. This study matches every funded institution to Census data for the communities around it, to examine who the program serves and what those neighborhoods look like.

The discount each institution receives is set by the federal government based on how many students qualify for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) — free or reduced-price meals, a standard federal measure of household income. Schools where 75 percent or more of students qualify receive the deepest discounts: 80 to 90 percent off their bill. Schools where fewer than 35 percent qualify receive 20 to 49 percent off.

In 2024, 77.0 percent of E-Rate dollars went to the highest-need category. In the ZIP codes where those institutions operate, Census data shows 14.2 million households have no home internet subscription and 9.0 million have no large-screen device such as a laptop, desktop, or tablet.

Tribal Internet Networks Census Update tracks networks in MN and beyond

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The Institute for Local Self Reliance (Community Networks) has launched their new Tribal Internet Networks Census Update. Here’s what they report on a high level…

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s research suggests that there are nearly 90 active Tribal Internet networks es appear to be prospective – they are considering or pursuing opportunities to get into Internet access.

Here’s what that looks like in Minnesota:

Black (Active Networks):

Yellow (Expected Network: Building and/or Funded):

  • Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe 
    Expected: Building and/or Funded network

Green (Prospective Network)

  • Lower Sioux Indian Community 
    Prospective network

There’s a lot to take in from the report from an historical and current perspective. If you haven’t read much or spoken to people about Broadband Sovereignty that is a piece that is interesting especially in context of issues emerging today with technologies such as AI.

National Skills Coalition asks small manufacturers about their use of AI and technology

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National Skills Coalition reports…

Over the past year, National Skills Coalition has spoken with nearly 100 small and mid-sized businesses on topics related to skills and credentials. (Some of our findings are detailed in Big Insights from Small and Mid-Sized Businesses.)

Many of those businesses are manufacturing companies that are on the frontlines of digital adoption. They shared examples of how they are adopting new technologies ranging from robotics to precision machining to AI and more. These businesses offer an important ground-level perspective on a broader national challenge: how to ensure workers and local businesses have the skills, support, and flexibility needed to adapt to technological change and share in its gains.

Insights from these businesses can help policymakers and advocates design flexible policies that equip workers and their employers to respond to the ongoing technological shifts in the US economy. Below, we describe key insights and policy implications associated with them.

I’m abbreviating the list to include only the insights, not the ways in which policy can help…

Leading businesses know how digital skill-building relates to capital expenditures

General digital resilience is just as important as particular skills

Interpersonal skills can amplify (or undercut) digital skills

Hands-on, experiential learning matters for digital skills too

AI can help to expand existing internal talent development resources

Jobseekers and educators can do more to communicate the relevance of tech credentials

How does you MN County rank for broadband adoption?

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Earlier today I wrote about BroadbandClusters.org, it tracks broadband adoption by state, zip and county. Actually, it tracks a number of socioeconomic factors as well, which is helpful but looking at their drivers for broadband adoption, I found that there were two factors that were more technology based:

  • No access to a device
  • Percentage of large screen device

So, I have tracked three things from the research – to make for easy ranking and to help counties figure out what they might be able to change:

  • Weighted broadband Adoption
  • Weighted Large Screen Availability
  • Weighted without Computer/Device

Below the ranking is based on broadband adoption, but I’ve kept the other factors as well. (You can access the spreadsheet.) It’s worth nothing that this is different than broadband access, which I track at the end of the year. These numbers look at how many subscribe to the service.

county rank of broadband adoption Weighted BB Adoption weighted Large Screen Availability Weighted without compute Device
Dakota 1 83.6 92.8 2.6
Washington 2 83.2 93.3 2.3
Anoka 3 83.1 90.8 3.03
Cook 4 83.1 91 1.8
Hennepin 5 82.1 91.4 3.1
Scott 6 81.3 93.2 2.5
Carver 7 81 93.9 2.2
Sherburne 8 79.9 92.4 2.4
Olmsted 9 79.6 91.6 3.4
Winona 10 79 87.6 4.5
Ramsey 11 78.5 88.5 3.7
Big Stone 12 78.3 85.3 6.5
Rock 13 78.1 87.4 4
Beltrami 14 78 85 5.7
Grant 15 77.3 83.9 6.5
Benton 16 77 88.5 4.1
Itasca 17 77 83.5 5.7
Jackson 18 77 81.7 7.4
McLeod 19 77 84.8 6.8
Murray 20 77 88.5 4.1
Nobles 21 77 81.1 6.4
Pennington 22 77 81.8 6
Renville 23 77 80.4 8.7
Stevens 24 75.6 87.5 3
Houston 25 74.5 83.3 6.8
Clay 26 74.2 86.4 4.3
Kittson 27 74.2 82.4 7.9
Crow Wing 28 74.1 87.1 3.6
Norman 29 73.7 81.1 7.5
Lyon 30 73.6 86.5 5.2
Chisago 31 73.5 87.3 4.5
Rice 32 73.5 86.6 4.8
Blue Earth 33 73.4 89.9 3.3
Polk 34 73.4 82.8 5.6
Isanti 35 73.2 85.8 4.5
Lincoln 36 73.2 84 6.3
Red Lake 37 73.2 81.4 9.1
Wright 38 72.9 89.4 3.7
Clearwater 39 72.6 79.4 11.1
Faribault 40 72.5 81.8 7.4
Hubbard 41 72.4 84.3 6.1
Nicollet 42 72.2 86.7 7.1
Stearns 43 72.1 84.7 4.8
Brown 44 71.6 83.6 7.9
Dodge 45 71.5 87.2 5.1
Koochiching 46 71.5 80.8 6.6
Douglas 47 71.4 84.7 4.9
Roseau 48 71.2 79.3 5.8
Pope 49 70.6 85.9 5.7
Steele 50 70.4 84.6 6.7
Goodhue 51 69.6 86.2 5.6
Lac qui Parle 52 69.6 81.3 10
Otter Tail 53 69.5 83.8 6.5
Marshall 54 69.3 79.9 7.8
Cottonwood 55 69.2 81.1 7.2
Fillmore 56 69.2 82.9 9.4
St. Louis 57 69.1 83.7 5.8
Chippewa 58 68.9 79.6 6.6
Lake 59 68.7 84 8.6
Swift 60 68.7 82.2 8.2
Cass 61 68.1 83.4 5.8
Lake of the Woods 62 68 80.1 9.7
Waseca 63 67.3 86.1 6.9
Wilkin 64 67.3 81.5 8.9
Mower 65 67.1 82.6 5.5
Pipestone 66 67.1 83.1 5.8
Yellow Medicine 67 66.9 82.8 7.1
Becker 68 66.8 82 5.3
Wadena 69 66.6 75.7 7.4
Freeborn 70 66.5 81.4 8.1
Mille Lacs 71 66.4 81.8 5.8
Wabasha 72 66.2 82.7 7.4
Kandiyohi 73 65.9 83.7 4.5
Le Sueur 74 65.6 84 5.5
Meeker 75 65.6 82.7 6.7
Morrison 76 64.7 80.9 8.6
Redwood 77 64 82.8 6.8
Traverse 78 63.6 74.3 12.2
Martin 79 62.9 81.3 7.1
Sibley 80 61.4 80.3 6.6
Mahnomen 81 61.1 75.9 8.7
Watonwan 82 60.7 76.2 8.6
Aitkin 83 59.9 80.5 6.4
Carlton 84 58.6 80.9 5.4
Todd 85 53.6 73.7 10.1
Pine 86 52.8 78.8 8.1
Kanabec 87 52.3 78 9.3

 

Broadband Clusters looks at broadband adoption by state, zip and county

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I learned about BroadbandClusters.org from the NDIA listerv. I’m going to follow up (very soon) with a look at the data by county – because I know we all want to know how we are doing locally. But for now, just the overview. Here’s the explanation shared there…

BroadbandClusters, a tool now covering 500+ metros and all 50 states that helps identify which ZIP codes have device and internet adoption gaps.

I wanted to share a few recent updates that I think will be useful to this community:

State-level explorer

I’ve heard from many in the NDIA community asking for better visibility into how rural communities and villages are affected by adoption gaps. The new State Explorer addresses this directly. You can now filter ZIP codes by concentration of seniors, Indigenous residents, veterans, children, race, and more. Set your threshold and only those communities surface, making it easy to compare how they perform against the statewide average.

Here’s the map and information for Minnesota…

I like the last graph and how is shows the correlation between various factors and broadband adoption. Many of the factors are beyond the scope of technology but the top and bottom aren’t. That seems like an area where folks could concentrate if they want to improve broadband adoption.

Continue reading →

New report on impact of broadband access on modern life

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Public Knowledge has released a new study on the impact of digital inclusion and modern life…

This paper by Public Knowledge Broadband Policy Director Alisa Valentin, Ph.D., and UnidosUS Senior Civil Rights Policy Advisor Claudia Ruiz, reveals that affordable, reliable high-speed internet is a foundational prerequisite for participation in modern-day life. Unfortunately, millions remain on the wrong side of the digital divide.

Here are the key findings…

  • Consumers possess a sophisticated understanding of solutions needed to bridge the digital divide, but they face systemic barriers due to policies that prioritize concentrated wealth over community needs. False narratives and associated policies rooted in scarcity have diverted resources away from those who need them most.
  • The digital divide compounds every other challenge struggling households already face. Communities do not face barriers to broadband access and adoption in isolation. Instead, these obstacles intersect with challenges with housing stability, healthcare, employment, and education, which makes it imperative that these issues are addressed in concert with the closing of the digital divide.
  • Past policy approaches to closing the digital divide have failed to center community wisdom. Effective solutions meet people where they are so they are empowered to strengthen grassroots solutions, such as by embedding digital resources in frequently visited places or integrating digital navigation programs in existing areas of community support to meet their needs.
  • The Universal Service Fund must be urgently reformed to provide a robust broadband affordability benefit of approximately $40 (or more if someone is in a high-cost area or living on Tribal lands) that reflects the market costs and the reality of competing costs of household expenses.
  • Network resiliency must be strengthened by shifting high-cost program support toward operational expenses and network hardening.
  • Broadband adoption must be prioritized through sustained federal investment in digital skills, device access, and culturally responsive training and digital navigation programs.

2026 Industry Broadband Pricing Index finds faster speeds and lower prices

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US Telecom is an association for broadband providers. They do an annual look at Broadband Pricing Index. Here are the highlights from the 2026 Index…

A bright spot in household budgets. In 2025, internet service continued to stand apart from other household costs, with prices declining for a service that runs faster than ever.
Prices decline while speeds accelerate. USTelecom’s annual Broadband Pricing Index (BPI)1 finds that year over year, real prices for the most popular internet services (100–940 Mbps) fell 6.0%, while gigabit plans declined 4.9%.2 Over the longer term, prices for the internet services most households buy today have fallen 43.6% since
2014,3 even as other mainstay consumer goods and services have risen 36%. Average download speeds, meanwhile, have surged 21.9% year over year and 145% since 2014.
The deepest savings are reaching the most price-sensitive households. For the first time, this year’s report breaks out pricing across three speed bands within the 100–940 Mbps range. Prices fell in every tier, with entry-level plans (100–249 Mbps) posting the steepest one-year decline—down 17.2% in real terms—while mid range plans (250–499 Mbps) fell 8.3% and higher-speed plans (500 940 Mbps) declined 12.6% when adjusted for inflation.
The trend of consumers choosing faster plans at lower cost likely masks steeper price declines. This report’s findings are conservative given that many households are taking advantage of declining prices to upgrade to faster internet plans. According to the latest FCC data, gigabit subscriptions have grown nearly fivefold since 2020.4 The BPI’s methodology does not account for consumers choosing to upgrade to faster service. As a result, the true pricing gains to consumers are likely greater than this index alone captures..
Competition and private investment are powering these gains. Fierce competition among diverse internet service providers—backed by tens of billions of dollars in private capital flowing into broadband networks each year—sustains the favorable consumer trend of declining prices and accelerating speeds.
Consumers confirm the value proposition. In a recent national poll, just 2% of likely voters selected home internet service among their top two household cost concerns. In fact, internet price concerns ranked
the lowest of any category surveyed, behind groceries (39%), health insurance (31%), housing (30%), and gas prices (25%).6 Declining prices and rising performance are showing up not just in the data, but in how Americans experience their internet service.
A healthy internet market in practice. Heated competition, strong private investment and declining prices boost household purchasing power, spur broader adoption of high-speed internet, and support a strong digital foundation for what comes next

Fiber Broadband says Precision Agriculture needs fiber

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Fiber Broadband Association releases a report that outlines the benefits of fiber for precision agriculture…

Precision Ag depends on data and broadband networks. Farming is transforming into a highly connected, data-driven industry and this shift fundamentally changes the broadband requirements of rural America.

Current 100/20 Mbps thresholds do not reflect these realities and risk prematurely classifying agricultural communities as “served,” but a symmetrical baseline of at least 100/100 Mbps better reflects the operational demands of Precision Ag today and the technologies emerging over the next decade. Among broadband technologies, fiber remains uniquely positioned to meet these requirements due to its symmetric capacity, extremely low latency, and virtually unlimited scalability.

To ensure U.S. agriculture remains competitive and resilient, broadband policy must evolve past minimum speed thresholds and “good enough” infrastructure to reflect the realities of data-driven farming. Investing in scalable fiber infrastructure ensures that rural America and the nation’s food supply remain competitive in a rapidly evolving agricultural economy.

It makes sense that the Fiber Broadband Association would feel that way. They also list some increased needs they predict will happen as a result of AI…

Practically, technology advancements and AI integration push networks toward the following requirements:
• More upstream throughput (moving raw/processed data to models)
• Lower-latency access (interactive recommendations and control)
• More reliability (automation cannot “pause” for a flaky link or bad weather)
• Edge computing architectures (local processing plus cloud synchronization)
• Scalability (more devices and higher data rates over time)
• Security (critical operational data, ransomware risks, supply chain access)