Broadband Now has released their quarterly State of Broadband in America report with new insights about trends in broadband across the country.
In the Q4 report for 2019, Broadband Now found an increase in the availability of affordable broadband access. While trends in speed didn’t change much from last quarter, the report does show increased access to basic level broadband.
Across the country, there was an overall increase in the availability of broadband access for $60/month or less. Hawaii, Kansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi showed the largest increases. Only four states showing a decrease in affordable access: Wyoming, Oregon, Minnesota, and Idaho.
The report shows gains in access to affordable plans up to those with access to plans at $80 or less. The report notes that special pricing around Black Friday and the holiday season likely made an impact on these numbers for Q4.
The most significant gains were found in access to $40 and under stand-alone internet plans. This may suggest that more service providers are seeing the demand for internet only plans as households move to cord cutting rather than showing interest in bundled packages.
When it comes to internet speeds, the report shows improvements in access to faster speeds as well. Broadband Now says that their data shows 5.5 thousand more consumers had access to 500 Mbps or faster wired broadband internet, compared to Q3.
1.5 million more Americans gained access to basic broadband internet. This could be due in part to the efforts of internet providers to expand service to rural and underserved areas.
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