The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has recently released its annual report on access in the United States to Internet connections, including information on the gap between current service levels and the benchmark Internet connection speeds recommended under the Commission’s National Broadband Plan.
According to the Commission’s report, entitled Internet Access Services: Status as of December 31, 2023, approximately 97% of fixed Internet connections to households meet or exceed the speed tier that most closely approximates the target set in the National Broadband Plan of 3 megabits per second (Mbps) downstream and 768 kilobits per second (kbps) upstream. This penetration rate for fixed high-speed service compares with approximately 95% at the end of 2022, 81% at the end of 2013, and just 49% in 2009.
Without accounting for speed, Internet connections overall are growing. By the end of December 2023, there were at least 544 million Internet connections operating at speeds over 200 kbps, a 3.2% year-over-year increase. And, once again, overall growth continues to be driven by dramatic increases in mobile connections. At the end of December 2023, there were approximately 413 million mobile Internet connections, compared with only about 131 million fixed Internet connections.
The text of the Commission’s latest report on Internet access is available at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-405488A1.pdf.
