The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has recently released its annual report on access to Internet connections in the U.S., 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 June 30, 2024, approximately 97% of residential fixed Internet connections had a speed of at least 10 megabits per second (Mbps) downstream and 1 Mbps upstream by the end of the reporting period, with 94% of residential connections having a speed of at least 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream. These results easily surpass the target set in the National Broadband Plan of 3 Mbps downstream and 768 kilobits per second (kbps) upstream.
Without accounting for speed, the total number of Internet connections remains strong. As of June 30, 2024, there were more than 548 million Internet connections operating at speeds over 200 kbps, slightly more than the 544 million recorded the previous year. And, once again, modern Internet connections are dominated by mobile technologies, which account for more than 75% of all Internet connections.
The Commission’s latest report on Internet access is available at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-411463A1.pdf.