In its review of 2014 fixed broadband deployment (via DSL,
cable, fiber, satellite, and wireless internet service providers), the FCC
found that 10% of Americans did not have access to its new standard of high
speed broadband (25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload). The good news is that this is half of what it
was just two years earlier. The bad news
is that 10% represents 34 million people; a number way greater than zero and
one that is inconsistent with the FCC’s objective of ensuring that broadband is
available to ALL Americans in a “reasonable and timely fashion.”
And, while the digital divide between rural and urban areas narrowed a
bit, it remained strikingly large because of the cost (profit) differences in
deployment. In 2014, 39% of Americans
living in rural communities lacked access to 25/3 broadband speeds. This is down from the 55% in 2012, but significantly
higher than the 4% of the urban population.
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