Many U.S. states have struggled to make broadband service available to 100% of their residents, mainly because service providers are focused on providing it to areas where it’s most profitable.
Using Ookla’s Speedtest Intelligence® data, the U.S. states that are currently delivering the minimum standard for fixed broadband speeds have been identified.
As mandated by the FCC, the minimum standard for fixed broadband is a100 Mbps download speed and a 20 Mbps upload speed.
Well-Performing U.S. States
According to Ookla’s H1 2024 findings, Connecticut, North Dakota, Delaware and six other states are the top performing states, with the highest percentage of Speedtest users that meet the FCC’s minimum standard for fixed broadband speeds.
In Connecticut, 65.8% of Speedtest users now meet the minimum broadband standard set by the FCC. However, this figure highlights the ongoing need for improvement across states.
Over the first half of 2023 to the first half of 2024, New Mexico, Arizona, and Minnesota experienced the most significant increase in Speedtest users meeting the FCC's minimum broadband speeds.
New Mexico leads the rest of the states with its gains in broadband over the past year, demonstrating a 50% increase in the percentage of its population with access to the FCC’s minimum broadband speeds. Arizona also saw a 45% jump, driven by the continuous fiber deployments in the area.
Meeting the Minimum Broadband Speed
Several U.S. states still face significant challenges in providing residents with the minimum broadband standard. Washington, Alaska, Illinois, and Oregon stand out with the widest digital divide, showing the largest gap between rural and urban Speedtest users meeting the FCC’s minimum broadband speed standard.
Unsurprisingly, less than 40% of the Speedtest users in the three least densely populated states in the U.S.—Alaska, Montana and Wyoming—are receiving the minimum broadband speeds.
BEAD Funding’s Impact
In response to the growing need for broadband accessibility, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, allocating USD 42.5 billion to the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.
Managed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the program funds broadband expansion efforts across all 50 states, Washington, DC, and several U.S. territories for planning, infrastructure, and adoption initiatives.
However, BEAD funding isn’t expected to significantly impact broadband deployment projects until 2025 at the earliest, with some states potentially facing delays depending on their proposal status with the NTIA.
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