Connect Minnesota Releases New Broadband Availability Data

Connect Minnesota released new broadband availability data which shows increases among key speed tiers, including 74.5% of Minnesota households now having access to broadband at a minimum of 10 Mbps download/6 Mbps upload. Last April, the data showed that 69.19% of households had access across the state at these speeds (including mobile wireless, but excluding satellite services).

Among the findings of the new broadband availability research are:

• 74.5% of Minnesota households can access fixed and mobile broadband at speeds of at least 10 Mbps download/6 Mbps upload – the minimum speed threshold for Minnesota’s goal of ubiquitous broadband availability*. This represents an increase of more than 5 percentage points from April 2013, and for the first time in Connect Minnesota’s work, shows the impact of mobile broadband in meeting state speed goals in areas previously not served by those speeds (excluding satellite services).
• Since Connect Minnesota began measuring availability at the 10 Mbps download/6 Mbps upload speed tier in April 2011, there has been an increase of nearly 20 percentage points in fixed and mobile broadband availability from 56.4% to 74.5%.
• Nearly 96% of Minnesotans have fixed broadband available at speeds of 3 Mbps download/768 Kbps upload, the tier the Federal Communications Commission uses to determine eligibility for the Connect American Fund; when mobile broadband is included, 99.80% of Minnesota households have access at this speed tier (both excluding satellite services).
• Minnesota has seen a dramatic increase in availability at higher speed tiers over the past two years (since October 2011), including:
• 76% of households now have access to broadband service at speeds of at least 100 Mbps download/1.5 Mbps upload, an increase of 31 percentage points (excluding mobile wireless and satellite services).
• 84% of households now have access to broadband service at speeds of at least 25 Mbps download/1.5 Mbps upload, an increase of 15 percentage points (excluding mobile wireless and satellite services).
• 89% of households now have access to broadband service at speeds of at least 10 Mbps download/1.5 Mbps upload, an increase of 15 percentage points (including mobile wireless, but excluding satellite services).

(Nov 20)