Ookla’s Speedtest Intelligence study for the second half of last year had contradictory results: While many states made “sizable gains” in broadband in 2024, there was no “sweeping improvement” in the digital divide.
The reason that both can be true likely is that the ending of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) on June 1, 2024 took broadband away from a sizable portion of the 23 million participants.
Other arrows pointed upward. The report cited a report from the Fiber Broadband Association (and carried out by RVA LLC Market Research & Consulting) that fiber now passes 56.5% of households. It was a year of growth, with a record 10.3 million U.S. homes passed. Fiber now passes 88.1 million homes.
The study found that the digital divide has gotten worse in Washington, Oregon, and Illinois.
“With so much attention and funding being directed toward eliminating the digital divide, it’s disheartening to see the divide growing in some states, particularly as the overall percentage of Speedtest users getting speeds of 100/20 Mbps grows,” the study read.
“It appears that many recent broadband investments are resulting in better urban broadband coverage rather than closing the gap in rural areas.”
Highlights from the Ookla digital divide study:
- The number of states with 60% or more users experiencing the FCC’s minimum standard for fixed broadband speeds of 100 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream increased from nine in the first half of 2024 to 22 states (and the District of Columbia) in the second half of the year. Seven states have 65% of more users with access to broadband speeds.
- 32 states saw their digital divide increase between the first half of 2024 to the second half of 2024, the study found, while 17 states saw their digital divide decrease. Only Kentucky saw its digital divide remain the same.
- New Mexico, Colorado, and Minnesota had the biggest year-over-year increase in the percentage of Speedtest users that receive 100/20 Mbps broadband speeds.
- New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, North Dakota, and Maryland were the top five states with the highest percentage of Speedtest users that have at least 100/20 Mbps speeds.
- Montana and Alaska had fewer than 40% of Speedtest users that receive the minimum broadband speeds. These are also two of the least densely populated states in the country.
Two weeks ago, HighSpeedInternet.com reported that the average national internet speed last year was 214 Mbps, a 9% year-over year increase from 2023, when the average was 196 Mbps, according to a report from HighSpeedInternet.com.
The balance of 2025 promises to be active because the BEAD program — in some form — will begin deployment.
