NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association released its “2023 Broadband/Internet Availability Survey Report” yesterday highlighting the ongoing efforts of rural broadband providers to deliver better broadband services to rural Americans.
The NTCA said members continue to deploy fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) networks that empower increasingly higher downstream and upstream speeds in rural communities. Approximately 84 percent of respondents’ customers on average can receive downstream speeds greater than or equal to 100 Mbps, with over 67 percent of customers on average having access to Gigabit downstream speeds.
Upload speeds that are important for critical user applications like video conferencing, remote work and school continue to increase as well, with nearly 82 percent on average realizing upload speeds of 100 Mbps or higher and 61 percent of customers on average having access to Gigabit upstream capability. These improvements in customer experience are driven by continuing efforts to expand the reach of robust and reliable underlying networks. The average proportion of customers served by this year’s respondents via fiber connections is nearly 84 percent, as well.
Customers are eager to subscribe to higher speeds as they become available. Nearly 60 percent of respondents’ customers on average subscribe to 100 Mbps downstream broadband or better, up from just over 49 percent in the 2022 survey. For the second consecutive year, the 2023 survey found that subscriptions for services between 100 Mbps and 1 Gig downstream have become more popular than services between 25 and 100 Mbps.
Reader Interactions