FCC Sees Big Jump in Broadband Connections Above 6 Mbps

Coverage Type: 

Americans’ appetite for higher-speed bandwidth is growing fast, according to a report from the Federal Communications Commission. More than 40 million (40.7 million) Americans subscribed to fixed broadband service with downstream rates greater than 6 Mbps and upload speeds above 768 kbps as of December 2012 -- nearly doubling since December 2009, when 20.6 million Internet connections had download speeds greater than 6 Mbps. Growth in higher-speed connections outpaced overall growth in fixed broadband subscribers, which increased from 80 million to 92.6 million over the same period. The rise in higher-speed connections is likely the result of increased use of video streaming -- and it’s good news for broadband service providers, who increasingly are relying on customer speed upgrades for revenue growth. Growth in connection speeds was even steeper on the mobile side. More than 31 million (31.6 million) mobile subscribers received speeds above 6 Mbps and upload speeds above 768 kbps as of December 2012 -- more than doubling in just a single year. As of December 2011, only 14.2 million mobile users received speeds above 6 Mbps, the FCC said.

[Jan 2]


FCC Sees Big Jump in Broadband Connections Above 6 Mbps