Rural Download Speeds are Worse than Reported, Microsoft Study Says

Nearly three-quarters of the downloads hitting Microsoft servers from nonmetropolitan counties are so slow they don’t meet the Federal Communications Commission definition of broadband. Microsoft’s county-level data shows a big gap between what the federal government says is available and what people actually use. The main takeaway from this is that accurate data to measure broadband access and use remains elusive. Without accurate and timely broadband data, different pictures emerge (FCC versus Microsoft, for example) of the issue resulting in ineffective strategies and misplaced scarce dollars to truly reduce the digital divide.  

[Roberto Gallardo is assistant director of the Purdue University Center for Regional Development and a Purdue extension community and regional economics specialist]