Broadband speeds in rural areas continued to track upward last year, according to NTCA’s annual report.
The “2024 Broadband/Internet Availability Survey Report” from NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association found that approximately 89% of respondents’ customers on average can receive downstream speeds of 100 Mbps or greater. This compares to 84% in 2023.
Researchers found that an average of more than 76% of customers have access to Gigabit downstream speeds. That’s an increase from 67% in 2023. Almost 85% of respondents’ customers had, on average, upload speeds of 100 Mbps or higher, with 68% having access to Gigabit upstream capability, an increase from 61% in 2023.
More than 67% of the respondents’ customers subscribe to 100 Mbps or faster downstream broadband, an increase from just under 60% in the 2023 NTCA report. For the third consecutive year, the survey found that subscriptions for 100 Mbps and higher speed downstream services are more popular than lower-speed offerings.
“Year over year, NTCA’s community-based provider members lead the way in deploying and sustaining high-quality broadband in rural America,” NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield said in a press release about the report.
“Our Broadband/Internet Availability Survey underscores that not only did providers continue to offer better broadband services in 2024, but also that rural consumers are making use of these more capable services in greater numbers.”
The organization partnered with Industry Insights to conduct the survey, which was sent to every NTCA member company in August.
41% of NTCA’s members — 228 holding companies — responded to the survey. Respondents’ average ILEC service area is approximately 2,621 square miles. These organizations have, on average, 5,257 residential and 524 business fixed broadband connections in service.
Almost half of respondents (46.5%) say they have a service area of less than 500 square miles. One-quarter (25.8%) have a service area of between 500 and 1,999 square miles, and one-quarter (27.6%) have a service area of 2,000 square miles or larger.
Last year’s NTCA report found that almost 82% of respondents’ customers, on average, had access to upload speeds of 100 Mbps or higher.
