INCOMPAS Report: Only 25% of Census Blocks Have Competition for 100 Mbps Broadband

Only one-quarter of developed US census blocks have two or more providers of 100 Mbps broadband, according to a broadband competition report from INCOMPAS – and according to the competitive carrier association, competition is even less than that finding would suggest because the finding is based on Form 477 data collected by the Federal Communications Commission. Virtually everyone agrees that the Form 477 data overstates broadband availability. In this case, an entire census block would be considered to have 100 Mbps broadband, even if only a single location in the census block can get service at that speed. The finding is one of a range of data points that INCOMPAS uses to back up its assertion that “the fixed BIAS [broadband internet access service] market, as well as the business data services marketplace, remain highly concentrated” in certain geographic areas. Other key INCOMPAS findings about the BIAS market:

• 31% of developed census blocks have no provider offering service at 100 Mbps speeds
• 41% of developed census blocks have only one such provider
• Only 5% of census blocks have three or more providers advertising 100 Mbps service somewhere in the block
• Virtually all census blocks with gigabit service have only a single provider of service at that speed