Small Providers Drive Higher Rural Broadband Speeds and Adoption

A December 2018 report from NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association shows higher adoption rates and increased availability of higher internet speeds in rural communities. Nearly 40% of survey respondents reported customers purchasing broadband speeds of 25 Mbps or higher. Additionally, 16% of respondents’ customers subscribe to a service with 100 Mbps broadband speed.

NTCA members have been taking significant steps to replace copper networks with fiber connectivity where possible, contributing to the greater availability of higher speeds.

Independent carriers continue to face challenges in making 25 Mbps broadband speeds accessible to many rural residents and businesses. The main barrier to widespread deployment of fiber is cost. More than half of the survey respondents also cited regulatory uncertainty as a barrier, and about 47% cited long loops.

Additional findings:

• On average, 58.0% of respondents’ residential broadband customers are served by fiber to the home (up from 41.3% in 2016)
• 9% are served by copper loops (down from 36.0% in 2016)
• 4% are served by fiber to the node
• 6% are served by cable modem (down from 12.3% in 2016)

For more information or to view the report, click here.