FCC’s latest Internet report: broadband connections, speeds are up

The FCC released its annual Internet access and service report. It found that total Internet connections continue to rise, largely through mobile connections, and fixed Internet speeds are increasing.

The FCC’s report found that total Internet connections – wired and wireless – have increased by 11 percent over the last year and increased 35 percent in the last three years. Since 2012, most of the growth in total Internet connections is attributable to growth in wireless Internet access: mobile Internet connections increased 49 percent.

The report found that not only are there more Internet connections, the speeds of those connections are also increasing. Since 2012, the percentage of fixed connections with downstream speed of at least 25 Mbps has grown from 13 percent to 54 percent. The percentage of fixed connections with downstream speeds of at least 100 Mbps has increased from less than one percent to more than 15 percent in the last three years. These are huge improvements given the growth in data-heavy applications.

Read the FCC’s full report here.

Links:

Internet Access Services: Status as of Dec. 31, 2015 (FCC, Nov. 2016)

FCC’s broadband report shows speed disparity in DSL, cable, fiber-based services (FierceTelecom, Dec. 2, 2016)