Research

Digital literacy is widely seen as an essential skill. But Americans’ understanding of digital topics varies notably depending on the subject. For example, majorities of US adults know what cookies on websites do and can identify a secure password.

Broadcast and cable usage fell below 50% of total TV usage in the US for the first time in July 2023, the lowest linear total to date, according to Nielsen's latest viewership data from its monthly survey, 

Who still has landline telephones? The Washington Post's Andrew Van Dam found the answer in the National Health Interview Survey that is conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. Over the years, the survey has shown a correlation between having a landline and overall health. According to the survey, people who cut the cord and only use cell phones are more likely to engage in risky behavior.

The Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program has the potential to be a socioeconomic equalizer that helps close the gap between those Americans with access to broadband and those without. So far, the ACP has proven remarkably effective at making that happen. Despite only existing for over a year and a half, the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) calculates that nearly 20 million people have already enrolled in the program at a cost of just $14.2 billion in funding.

X, the social media service formerly known as Twitter, slowed down access from its platform to rival sites such as Substack and Facebook, but has begun reversing an effort to restrict its users from quickly viewing news sites. The slowness, known in tech parlance as “throttling,” initially affected rival social networks including Facebook, Bluesky and Instagram, as well as the newsletter site Substack and news outlets including Reuters and The New York Times.

In 2023, 167 rural telecommunications companies in 19 states participated in this study which provides benchmark results for the 2022 balance sheet and income statement and more than 37 other key metrics. The study calculates the percentage increase in operating expenses both with and without depreciation expense. Total operating expenses increased 5.1% in 2022 and without including depreciation expense, operating expenses increased 5.2%.

Working from home became necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a survey done by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research during May of 2020, 42% of all US workers worked from home and accounted for two-thirds of the nation’s gross domestic product. Therefore, work from home has become a feasible economic development strategy at the onset of COVID-19. This study gauges the contribution of workers from home in Indiana in 2021 by using the Regional Economic Modeling, Inc. (REMI) general equilibrium model.

The largest pay-TV providers in the US – representing about 96% of the market – lost about 1,730,000 net video subscribers in Q2 2023, compared to a net loss of about 1,725,000 in Q2 2022. The top pay-TV providers now account for about 71.9 million subscribers – with the top seven cable companies having 35.9 million video subscribers, other traditional pay-TV services having about 22.7 million subscribers, and the top Internet-delivered (vMVPD) pay-TV services having about 13.4 million subscribers. Key findings for the quarter include: 

The Federal Communications Commission's Office of Economics and Analytics (OEA) and the Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) initiated the urban rate survey for 2024. The information collected in this survey will be used to develop voice and broadband reasonable comparability benchmarks that will be in place in 2024. The FCC will be collecting the rates offered by a random sample of providers of fixed services identified using December 2022 data filed in the FCC Broadband Data Collection (BDC) tool.

As the federal government, along with states, gets ready to make a once-in-a-lifetime investment in broadband infrastructure, the concept of the digital divide remains somewhat the same as it was back in the mid-1990s, when the term was coined.