Research

To receive subsidies to expand broadband to unserved areas under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) requires states to implement plans to ensure middle-class affordability. Since the NTIA did not conclude that broadband was unaffordable for middle-class households, the threshold question is whether broadband is affordable to the middle class. Affordability, which has no formal definition, is defined by reference to adoption.

A market analysis, based on Q3 2022 mobile data, which examined several categories, including upload speeds, multi-server latency, consistency, video score, 5G video score, 5G performance, 5G availability, and 5G consistency. See the following for the rankings of each mobile provider in each category:

Fixed and wireless broadband customers cited price as the number one reason they would switch service providers in a new J.D. Power study. The report analyzes consumer sentiment and operator achievement across five categories: performance and reliability, cost of service, billing and payment, communications and promotions, and customer care. Ian Greenblatt, managing director at J.D. Power, said the first two categories alone account for nearly 60% of an operator’s score. "So obviously keeping the lights on is job number one. It’s got to work, it’s got to work all the time.

Should network usage fees be imposed on content and application providers to support internet infrastructure? New research from Analysys Mason shows such a mandate would be harmful to end users and the global internet ecosystem.

Total worldwide telecoms revenues from mobile and fixed broadband services will grow 14% between 2022 and 2027 to reach €1.2 trillion ($1.18 trillion). However monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) combined across both mobile and fixed broadband will fall by 4.2% from €7.48 ($7.36) in 2022 to €7.16 ($7.05) in 2027. In mobile markets, it is now evident that 5G will not be sufficient to offset ARPU decline as customers are unwilling to pay more for it.

The largest ever 5G global consumer study to date. The respondents selected for the interview represent the online population aged between 15 and 69 within the surveyed markets, which in total consists of 1.7 billion consumers and 430 million 5G users. The research reveals that the next wave of 5G is underway, with mainstream consumers now adopting 5G in frontrunner markets that launched 5G early on.

Telemedicine is a way for health care providers to deliver clinical health care to patients remotely through a computer or telephone, without an in-person office visit. The demonstrated benefits of telemedicine include improved access to care, convenience, and slowing the spread of infection. During the COVID-19 pandemic, legislation expanded coverage for telemedicine healthcare services. Key findings from this research include the following: 

Over the last two years, in California and across the country, billions of public dollars have been allocated to end the digital divide. The Digital Equity LA coalition and the California Community Foundation (CCF) Digital Equity Initiative set out in this report to document what people are being asked to pay for home internet in diverse neighborhoods across Los Angeles County (CA). Pricing information was obtained directly from internet service provider (ISP) websites using residential addresses in each of the neighborhoods examined.

Colorado’s five-year plan for investing millions of federal funding to expand fast, reliable, and affordable broadband across the state. The Roadmap was developed in coordination with the Colorado Digital Government Strategic Plan to ensure all Coloradans, as well as future generations, have equitable opportunities to access the countless benefits provided by high-speed internet. CBO encourages feedback on the Broadband Roadmap and will continue to travel throughout the state talking about affordability, accessibility, and digital literacy.

INCOMPAS, the Internet and Competitive Networks Association, launched a paper that quantifies the investments tech companies have made in the global network infrastructure of the internet.