Condition & Capacity
While broadband technologies have been widely adopted over the past two decades, a digital divide remains based on age, income, education, and geography. The FCC’s June 2024 broadband map shows that 94% of U.S. households can access a broadband connection at home that meets the FCC’s high-speed internet definition. By the FCC’s definition, a 1 GB file should take approximately 80 seconds to download, while the upload speed meets the requirements for video web conferencing applications. Availability can vary significantly based on location, with rural and tribal areas often experiencing lower rates of access compared to urban regions. As recently as 2022, the FCC estimated 24 million Americans lacked fixed broadband service, including 28% of those in rural areas and more than 23% living on tribal lands. Furthermore, regardless of the high availability rate, approximately 15% of
U.S. adults do not have a home broadband connection for a variety of reasons, including affordability.
The cost of broadband can vary widely. A 2024 survey found that the average monthly internet cost in the U.S. is $62 for a connection with download speeds of 100 MBps, with the price fluctuating from a low of $20 per month to a high of nearly $300 a month based on internet speeds.20 Additional fees for installation, equipment rental, or other services can add to the cost to access broadband at home. To help consumers understand their costs, the FCC now requires ISPs to provide easy-to-understand pricing labels, modeled after nutrition facts on food items.
Most U.S. households’ access to fixed broadband is delivered through fiber-optic cables, copper telephone lines (DSL), or coaxial cables. Coaxial cables, the same lines that carry cable television, are the most widespread wired technology, and an increasing share of households are using wireless technologies.
Compared to other infrastructure systems, America’s broadband networks are often newer and more frequently replaced or augmented with electronic hardware. The oldest copper lines capable of DSL speeds were installed at the dawn of the commercial internet—a relatively recent 35–40 years ago. Coaxial cables followed in the 1990s with the spread of cable television. Today, the most advanced technology being deployed is fiber-optic wiring, with 78 million U.S. homes connected to fiber, totaling 5.1 million miles of wiring, with another 4.2 million miles expected to be added by 2028. Fiber-to-the-home or hybrid systems often replace older systems, with the oldest fiber lines only a few decades old, suggesting that the physical broadband infrastructure is likely in fair condition.
Broadband technologies differ in their deployment costs depending on factors such as geography or population density, labor costs, property acquisition, rights-of- way permissions, permitting, and other regulatory compliance factors, as well as preparation work in design and engineering. For example, wireless technologies are often more financially viable in less dense areas, where the cost of laying fiber-optic or cable lines to connect relatively few homes can be prohibitive.
Satellite broadband is also being used in remote areas, but it is frequently an expensive option that is generally slower, subject to data caps, and vulnerable to inclement weather. A 2024 study noted that 30% of users of one popular satellite internet provider had experienced an internet outage in the previous 90 days compared to 24% for major fiber providers.
Source: National Telecommunications and Information Administration, “
