New data from NTIA reveals broadband is getting faster and reaching more people.
NTIA’s full report details the combined broadband speeds from wireless and wireline services from June 2010 to December 2013. Laid out, the charts do a great job of showing side-by-side how quickly broadband speeds and access have improved in 30 months.
The big highlights are that over 99 percent of Americans have access to at least 6 Mbps via wired or wireless connections. 92 percent have 6 Mbps over wired. In addition, two-thirds of Americans have access to speeds over 100 Mbps. An astounding feat considering in June 2010, only ten percent had access to 100 Mbps.
Of course, access is one thing - actual delivered speed is another. For cable’s part, the FCC’s recent Measuring Broadband America report showed that during peak periods, cable-based services delivered 102 percent of advertised download speeds and 111 percent of advertised upload speeds, on average. The FCC concluded that these results “demonstrate that consumers should be reasonably confident that the performance they receive from their ISP will be consistent with [the FCC] Report.”
Improved access and popularity of high-speed tiers is also reflective of the fact that broadband providers are consistently working to improve service, quality, and reach. As NTIA explained, the big improvement in access to 100 Mbps service is “primarily attributable to an upgrade in existing cable systems.” And those upgrades and speed increases are continuing into 2014 and beyond. So perhaps the most important takeaway of these reports is the clear evidence that consumers are reaping the benefits of faster and more robust broadband connections.