MSDS Practicum Project - US Broadband divide

 


The Term US Broadband divide indicates the unavailability of broadband internet to all americans. According to FCC, 100 mbps speed is the threshold to be called as broadband. The site Ookla.net collects speed tests and shows 60% of the tests > 100 mbps download speeds

The data from the FCC- BDC as of December 2024 demonstrates a steady increase in locations with access to high-speed internet. According to the FCC, an additional one million locations gained access to 100/20 Mbps speeds between June and December 2024. Additionally, nearly 7 million additional locations gained access to even faster gigabit speeds (1 Gbps download and 100 Mbps upload) in the same time frame. While the overall trend is positive, the persistent percentage of unserved and underserved locations represents a significant population that is still being left behind

The good news is over the years with expanding cable infrastructure and advancement in other technologies - Terrestrial fixed wireless, Cell Phone internet and Satellite Internet, 95% of US households now have access to broadband internet. the remaining 5% is either underserved - < 100 mbps > 23 mbps download speeds or unserved - < 23 mbps download speeds.

the 95% availability rate does not translate to 100% adoption rate. the adoption rate is at around 77%, according to pew research in 2021. the reasons for low broadband adoption is complex.

- A recent survey showed that only 57% of adults with household incomes below $30,000 have home broadband, compared to 92% of those with incomes of $75,000 or more. That's the financial aspect of the broadband divide.

- A significant portion of the unconnected population reports that they are simply "not interested" in a home connection or that a smartphone meets all of their internet needs. This demographic could come under a lack of digital skills, or an understanding of the internet's relevance to their lives

- Broadband adoption rates are lesser in Rural areas compared to Urban. Race / Ethnicity also plays a factor. For example, in rural communities with children, a greater proportion of American Indian (34%), Black (31%), and Hispanic (31%) households lack broadband access compared to 21% of white households.

I am doing my MSDS Practicum Project on this complex US Broadband divide issue. The Project will use publicly available data from the FCC and the U.S. Census Bureau, along with geospatial feature engineering, to identify and characterize the multidimensional nature of this issue. 

References:

https://www.fcc.gov/news-events/blog/2025/05/20/broadband-data-collection-shows-access-high-speed-internet-services

https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=22ca3a8bb2ff46c1983fb45414157b08

https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/06/03/mobile-technology-and-home-broadband-2021/


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