The FCC reports that the majority of the US lacks a choice in high-speed internet. Broadband internet is defined as a minimum speed of 25Mbps download, and 3Mbps upload. Cable and Telephone companies provide the majority of internet connections in the US, but even when you add in fixed wireless connections, there are still nearly 50M houses with just have a single broadband option, or none at all.
Ars Technica’s senior IT reporter wrote this article 6/30/17, explaining the problem.
To provide further insights on the FCC report, Economists Incorporated and CMA Strategy Consulting wrote this June 2017 report : Assessing the Impact of Removing Regulatory Barriers on Next Generation Wireless and Wireline Broadband Infrastructure Investment. The report forecasts consumer fixed-internet usage to grow 23% per year for the next five years. The FCC is considering rule changes that may improve network deployment economics in four ways:
- speeding the time to deploy both wireless and wireline next generation broadband networks
- lowering the costs of make-ready substantially
- reducing the operating costs of pole attachments
- removing many additional costs of operating duplicative copper networks
Open Broadband recognized the problem of low-to-no 25Mbps broadband availability, and we’re building out hybrid fiber and fixed wireless networks to provide a solution. If you need high-speed internet in your community, contact us for a consultation.
