National Digital Inclusion Alliance

The National Digital Inclusion Alliance releases its new list of "The Top 25 Worst Connected U.S. Cities, 2015". Our rankings for 2015 are based on recently released Census data on home access to fixed broadband Internet services. This includes wireline broadband technologies (cable Internet, DSL, fiber to the premises) as well as satellite and "fixed wireless" technologies. It does not include 3G and 4G mobile devices like smartphones, or non-broadband connections like dial-up modems.

At the top of 2015's Worst Connected is Detroit (MI), where a full 54% (!) of all households still didn't have fixed broadband connections in 2015. Second on the list was Brownsville (TX) at 52%, followed closely by Cleveland (OH) at 48%, Memphis (TN) at 47%, and Shreveport (LA) and Laredo (TX) at 45%.

AT&T has declined to make its new low-cost Internet program available to many thousands of eligible households who have the bad luck to live at an address where the company's maximum download speed for new residential accounts is below 3 mbps. Here’s the story. “Access From AT&T” is a low-cost broadband service that was a Federal Communications Commission condition of AT&T's merger with DirectTV. Launched in most AT&T markets in April, the program is supposed to enable any user of the Federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to purchase AT&T high speed home Internet service for either $10 or $5 a month, depending on the download speed “technically available” at the user's address – 10 Mbps for $10/mo, 5 Mbps for $10/mo or 3 Mbps for $5 (plus tax).

As some National Digital Inclusion Alliance affiliates in AT&T's service area geared up to help SNAP participants apply for Access in May and June, they found that a significant number were being told the program was unavailable at their addresses. Some of those households had recent histories of AT&T Internet service or had next door neighbors with current accounts. So, why were they being told AT&T did not serve their addresses? The problem: The threshold for Access From AT&T is a download speed of 3 Mbps. If the fastest speed available at a particular address is less than 3 mbps, an otherwise eligible SNAP recipient at that address can't sign up for Access – though they can pay full price for lower speeds.