Cable Companies Tout Speed Increases

The NCTA—The Internet and Television Association, an industry trade and lobbying association for large cable companies, recently touted big increases in broadband speeds since the start of the pandemic. Specifically, NCTA states that the average U.S. download speed has grown from 138 Mbps in March 2020, the first month of the pandemic, to 226 Mbps in June 2022. Obviously, the cable companies are taking credit for much of the speed increase, and to some extent, that’s true. But there are a number of different reasons why average download speeds are increasing. One of the primary reasons is because cable companies have almost universally increased the download speed of the base broadband product to 200 Mbps to 300 Mbps. Another factor is increased fiber broadband infrastructure buildouts to homes, which also contributes positively to broadband speed increases. Finally, the expansion of fiber broadband infrastructure to rural areas thanks to the Federal Communication Commission's Alternative Connect America Model program, federal grants and subsidies like ReConnect and the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, and numerous state broadband grants.