US Broadband Availability Mi-Year 2017

U.S. broadband providers continue to deploy and upgrade networks to bring consumers across the nation ever-faster service and more competitive choice, according to a new USTelecom and CensusNBM analysis of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) broadband availability data for mid-year 2017. This research demonstrates the real economic impact of broadband capital investment dollars: more and faster broadband for American consumers and businesses. According to the latest USTelecom analysis, wireline, wireless, and cable broadband providers invested $76 billion in 2017 and more than $1.6 trillion since 1996. The broadband availability data indicate that deployment is progressing. In the 18 months from the end of 2015 to mid-2017, fiber deployment grew from 21 percent to 29 percent of homes and competitive availability of wired broadband at 25 megabits per second (mbps) download and 3 mbps upload increased from 31 percent to 55 percent. During the same period, the difference between non-rural and rural deployment of fixed broadband at 10 mbps download and 1 mbps upload narrowed from 20 percent to 14 percent. By mid-2017, broadband at 100 mbps download was available to 89 percent of Americans.