Research

Reports that employ attempts to inform communications policymaking in a systematically and scientific manner.

Internet Satisfaction Report: 89% Have Reliable Access

Two things are clear in an internet satisfaction report commissioned by Amdocs and conducted by researchers at Dynata: Broadband generally is working well and many see it as a necessity. The survey found that 89% of respondents said they have reliable access and that the number of homes with more than nine connected devices has almost doubled since 2021. Only 13% of homes with annual incomes of less than $50,000 per year (low-income) have more than nine connected devices.

Municipal Broadband in Cambridge: Feasibility and Business Model Options

The City of Cambridge's (MA) comprehensive year-long municipal broadband feasibility study. The report examines the feasibility of the City of Cambridge implementing a municipal fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) service, providing a detailed FTTP design and cost estimate, and a range of business and financial models for building, operating and providing service to all premises in Cambridge.

Record Year for Broadband Equipment Spending in 2022, Says Dell'Oro Group

Total global revenue for the Broadband Access equipment market increased to $19 billion in 2022, up 17 percent year-over-year (Y/Y). Spending on passive optical network (PON) equipment continues to fuel the overall market, with revenue for PON OLTs and ONTs reaching $11.7 billion in 2022. Additionally, total XGS-PON OLT port shipments exceeded 2 million for the year, reaching a total of 2.3 million worldwide. Total cable access concentrator revenue was up 1 percent Y/Y at $1 billion.

Half of ACP-Eligible Households Still Unaware of the Program

After a year of operation, half of all households eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) internet subsidy are unaware of the benefit. A January 2023 survey of low-income households finds that over 50% say they have never heard of the program or do not know anything about it. Although many eligible households are unaware of ACP, the survey points to ways in which policymakers and community leaders can encourage enrollment. First, outreach can make a difference.

Home Broadband Performance Report

By September 2022, the average download speed for home broadband connections in the UK was 65.3 Mbit/s, an increase of 10% compared to March 2022. This was largely due to people upgrading to faster services. Less than 3% of households had average download speeds of less than 10 Mbit/s, with cable connections offering the highest average download speed. The proportion of homes in the research with broadband connections that use a superfast package (with an advertised download speed of 30 Mbit/s or higher) was 93%.

Racial/ethnic and income disparities in neighborhood-level broadband access in 905 US cities, 2017–2021

Broadband access is an essential social determinant of health, the importance of which was made apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to understand disparities in broadband access within cities and identify potential solutions to increase urban access. This was a descriptive secondary analysis using multi-year cross-sectional survey data. Data were obtained from the City Health Dashboard and American Community Survey.

Wireless Infrastructure By The Numbers: 2022 Key Industry Statistics

The US wireless and mobile industry spent $11.9 billion building additional capacity and coverage into the nation’s wireless networks in 2022. This does not include spending on spectrum or maintenance and ongoing network operations. In total, network operating expenses for US wireless and mobile networks in 2022 topped $46 billion. Some key statistics:

Use of Telemedicine among Physicians and Development of Telemedicine Apps

Prior to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, adoption of telemedicine was slow and its usage was rare. However, during the pandemic, usage of telemedicine increased dramatically with physicians using a number of telemedicine tools to deliver health services, while limiting patients’ exposure to the virus. Wide use of telemedicine may impact various aspects of health care delivery such as quality, cost, and access to care. Thus, a detailed understanding about the usage of telemedicine is vital to develop better policies associated with health care delivery.

2022 Report to Congress: Update on the Access, Exchange, and Use of Electronic Health Information

Hundreds of thousands of physician offices, hospitals, and health systems across the US have transitioned from paper-based medical records to health IT that is certified under the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) Health IT Certification Program. This report highlights the impact that the 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act) and its implementation contributed to continued progress toward interoperable access, exchange, and use of electronic health information (EHI).

The COVID hangover: US fiber providers slow down

According to the financial analysts at Evercore, US fiber operators are significantly scaling back their network buildout efforts.