FCC Releases New Data on Internet Access Services And Local Telephone Competition

The Federal Communications Commission has released its latest reports on Internet access service connections and local telephone services in the United States. Titled Internet Access Services and Local Telephone Competition, respectively, the reports are based on data submitted by service providers every six months. The reports include data collected by the FCC through June 30, 2013.

Highlights from the reports include the following:

• The number of connections with downstream speeds of at least 10 Mbps increased by 118% over June 2012, to 103 million connections, including 58 million fixed connections and 45 million mobile connections.
• Growth is particularly high in mobile Internet subscriptions. The number of mobile subscriptions with speeds over 200 kbps in at least one direction grew to 181 million -- up 18% from June 2012.
• In voice services, there were 90 million end-user switched access lines in service, 45 million interconnected VoIP subscriptions, and 306 million mobile voice subscriptions, or 441 million retail local telephone service connections in total as of June 30, 2013.
• Over the three years between June 2010 and June 2013, interconnected VoIP subscriptions increased at a compound growth rate of 16%, mobile voice subscriptions increased at a compound annual growth rate of 3%, and retail switched access lines declined at 10% a year.