Research

Digital inclusion efforts need to target the reasons people remain offline, and at this point, the digital divide is more of a problem of adoption than deployment. Successful digital inclusion efforts have a few key things in common: They are flexible and individualized, adhere to consistent high-level standards, and share best practices to minimize waste while adapting programs to meet local needs. Digital inclusion efforts include any of the various attempts to get people online.

30 years ago—on April 30, 1993—something called the World Wide Web launched into the public domain. The web made it simple for anyone to navigate the internet. All users had to do was launch a new program called a "browser," type in a URL, and hit return. This began the internet's transformation into the vibrant online canvas we use today. Anyone could build their own "web site" with pictures, video and sound. They could even send visitors to other sites using hyperlinked words or phrases underlined in blue.

The US fiber optic test equipment market will comprise over a fifth (21.3%) of the worldwide market over the next ten years, according to a new report from Future Market Insights. Fiber optic testing is becoming more critical as the telecommunications industry increasingly deploys fiber broadband and as fiber becomes an increasingly important underpinning of wireless networks. The researchers expect the worldwide fiber test equipment market to grow from $923 million in 2023 to $1.7 billion by 2033. The 10-year growth rate represents a CAGR of 6.8%.

Speed tests have barely changed in nearly two decades, even though the way we use the Internet has changed a lot. With so many more people on the Internet, the gaps between speed tests and the user’s experience of network quality are growing. The problem is so important that the Internet’s standards organization is paying attention, too. From a high level, there are three grand network test challenges:

The Federal Communications Commission is required by statute to assess the deployment of broadband across the US.  Although not explicitly required to do so, FCC uses its discretion to set a minimum fixed broadband speed that it uses as a benchmark.

This report examines 10 counties in rural Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi to explore how the costs of achieving true digital equity—by extending robust broadband infrastructure into areas missing it—can be offset by utilizing the potential of telehealth to improve healthcare delivery. To do so, this report first identifies the most common health issues affecting residents in these 10 counties and draws on an academic scholarship to demonstrate the benefits that could come from effective telehealth interventions for each.

A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report uncovered that “federal broadband efforts are fragmented and overlapping, with more than 100 programs administered by 15 agencies.” We request that GAO build upon this work and conduct an additional review of federal, state, and local broadband efforts to determine the effectiveness of each program.

Many Americans lack access to high-speed broadband which has allowed communities to get what they need without having to leave their homes. And so, just as the oceans commission developed the facts necessary to create solutions, Pew convened experts and conducted research to gather the data that policymakers need to make a difference and to expand access to this critical broadband infrastructure. Pew has been working at both the state and federal levels on broadband issues. Far from just a rural issue, broadband access is a concern all around us, in unserved city blocks and neighborhoods, w

Mobile data demand is exploding, with aggregate data downloaded quadrupling in the last seven years. New and innovative uses enabled by 5G, as well as the prospect of 6G applications, point towards further increases in expected demand for mobile network capacity.

There are still lots of unanswered questions about the true benefit the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program will bestow upon some of the nation's top broadband providers. But a "rough, preliminary estimate" from New Street Research indicates the BEAD opportunity stands to beef up their combined enterprise values by billions of dollars. New Street Research employed a multi-step model to calculate the number of served and unserved homes that can qualify for BEAD subsidies.