FCC Report Finds 19 Million Americans Do Not Have High-Speed Internet Access

According to the Federal Communications Commission's Eighth Broadband Progress Report  there are still 19 million Americans (6% of the US population) who lack access to high-speed Internet. Congress in Section 706 the Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires the FCC to report annually on whether broadband “is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion.”

The FCC believes that we are in an era when broadband is essential to innovation, jobs, and global competitiveness, the Report concludes that the FCC – and the nation – must continue to address obstacles impeding universal broadband deployment and availability. In addition, the report states that billions have been invested by the communications industry in broadband deployment, including next-generation wired and wireless services, including:

• Expansion of networks technically capable of 100 megabit-plus speeds to over 80 percent of the population through cable’s DOCSIS 3.0 rollout

• World-leading LTE deployment by mobile operators

• Sweeping reforms by the FCC to its universal service programs, including the new Connect America Fund for broadband deployment, Mobility Fund, and the Lifeline program for low-income Americans

• Action under the FCC’s Broadband Acceleration Initiative to reduce the cost and time required for deployment

• Numerous steps to expand availability of wireless spectrum for broadband 

With this said, many rural and tribal areas still lack access to high speed service. The report also indicated that the US is behind many other industrial countries in the speed and coverage of high speed Internet service. With that said, I will admit I would never go back to dial up - I can even remember when I was overly excited to get the USR upgrade patch to bring my 28.8k modem up to 33.6k, but on the flip side the communications act has a cost.

My cable bill has steadily increased, I now pay more for cable than I ever imagined, yes I love my high speed service, but at what cost is it being delivered? In NJ we spent billions laying fiber optic cabling over a decade ago, someone had to pay for it, nothing in this world is free. So while the report provides great insight to our current state, my experience has been that the last part of a project of this magnitude is typically the most expensive and difficult.

In my days of Six Sigma, getting to 99.9% was much easier and less costly than moving to 99.99%. This is a pure statistical metric, in order to move to the next 9, you have to endure considerable effort and this effort has a substantial cost, so while we are making progress, I would expect the cost to complete the additional 6% to be a heavy burden.

Frank Toscano is a 15+ year specialist in cloud based services focusing on Product Management, Marketing and Security within the Cloud. He has worked for EasyLink Services and Premiere Global Services in a global role providing hosted services to Fortune 1000 clients. He is currently seeking employment with a cloud based provider in a senior level Product/Marketing role.