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November 4, 2019

Report: CT strong on ‘broadband’ internet, but no stand-out on faster speeds

By Matt Pilon

Broadband internet is plenty available in Connecticut, but the state doesn’t stand out when in comes to more impressive speeds, according to a new report.

BroadbandNow said that 99 percent of Connecticut’s population had access to broadband speeds as of the third quarter of 2019. That makes Connecticut the second-most connected state in the country.

However, the Federal Communications Commission’s definition of broadband speed is just 25 megabits per second, which has been criticized by some as inadequate.

BroadbandNow -- a consumer website that provides information about internet availability in their respective geographic areas -- shed a little more light on available speeds across states.

For example, 59.5 percent of Connecticut’s population had access to at least 500 megabits per second of wired broadband as of the third quarter; more than 30 states had better access to those speeds, according to data in the report. However, that percentage was up steeply from BroadbandNow’s second-quarter report -- which was its first. Just 4.8 percent of people here could access 500-megabit speeds in the second quarter.

How is such a big increase possible?

It comes down to the way internet access is often measured -- using census blocks, according to BroadbandNow editor Tyler Cooper.

If providers report they are offering certain speeds in a census block, whether it’s to a dozen homes or to hundreds of homes, that entire block is considered covered by the service.

“What this can lead to, in effect, is significant statistical leaps whenever providers make even subtle changes to the amount of census blocks they list as being serviced at various tiers of broadband speed,” Cooper said. “In smaller states, this jump can be especially noticeable.”

Internet advocates have criticized the FCC for using census blocks to measure service availability.

But there’s also the possibility that higher speeds are actually becoming more available. Connecticut has seen multiple providers ramping up their offerings of late.

Tim Wilkerson, president of the New England Cable & Telecommunications Association, said in a statement that his members here, which include several major providers, have invested billions of dollars into higher speeds over the past decade.

“Broadband speeds currently offered throughout Connecticut are an asset and a key tool in the state’s economic development efforts and should be touted,” Wilkerson said. “Our members are in a constant state of innovation and are either testing or deploying new technology to bring the highest speeds at the most reasonable prices possible to residents and businesses of all sizes, so that Connecticut maintains its ranking as one of the top broadband states in the country.”

Internet providers have clashed with Connecticut municipal and government officials in recent years who argue that higher speeds, when available, are often unaffordable.

A legal fight over the rights of municipalities to build out their own networks is pending in Superior Court, after lawmakers declined to clarify a controversial state law regarding “municipal gain.”

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