2019 BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT DATA SHOW DIGITAL DIVIDE IS CLOSING

摘要

Newly released data from the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Office of Economics and Analytics shows 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 FCC'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%.