Where Americans Lack High-Speed Internet Access

Last year a report from the Federal Communications Commission found that 21.3 million Americans did not have broadband access in 2019. A new report by BroadbandNow, a company that helps consumers find out if high-speed internet is available where they live, estimates that the true number is actually twice that. The research cited a flaw in the FCC's data-gathering, specifically that if an ISP offers a service to at least one household in a census block, then that entire block would be counted as being connected.

BroadbandNow subsequently checked the availability of high-speed internet at 11,000 address manually in order to gain a more accurate picture of the number of people disconnected. It estimates that 42.8 million people are not connected to fixed high-speed internet across the U.S. and at state level, Texas has the highest number at 4.17 million. California and Arizona have the second and third highest estimated number at 2.35 million and 1.84 million respectively.