Microsoft's New Study Finds 162.8 Million People in the US Do Not Use the Internet at Broadband Speeds, Up From FCC's 24.7 Million Estimate (nytimes.com)

An anonymous reader shares a report: A new study by Microsoft researchers casts a light on the actual use of high-speed internet across the country, and the picture it presents is very different from the F.C.C. numbers. Their analysis, presented at a Microsoft event on Tuesday in Washington, D.C., suggests that the speedy access is much more limited than the F.C.C. data shows.

Over all, Microsoft concluded that 162.8 million people do not use the internet at broadband speeds, while the F.C.C. says broadband is not available to 24.7 million Americans. The discrepancy is particularly stark in rural areas. In Ferry County, for example, Microsoft estimates that only 2 percent of people use broadband service, versus the 100 percent the federal government says have access to the service.

[...] Accurate measurements on the reach of broadband matter because the government's statistics are used to guide policy and channel federal funding for underserved areas. "It's a huge problem," said Phillip Berenbroick, a telecommunications expert at Public Knowledge, a nonprofit technology policy group. "The result is that we're not getting broadband coverage and funding to areas that really need it."

Comments

Access

[rjstanford]

There's a big difference between having access to something and being able - or inclined - to use it. Its like the difference between a food desert (somewhere with no accessible grocery stores) and people not being able to afford to visit the supermarket next door.

The questions about why people who theoretically have access aren't using it will be interesting and hotly debated, but at the end of the day it won't change the fact that, today at least, they're not.

the real reason broadband is so important.

[nimbius]

megacorporations like Microsoft are pushing for broadband, not because it provides a better internet experience for users, but because it makes internet bloat less perceptible.
Your Windows internet experience might only be used for Amazon shopping and Facebook, but the number of realtime bandwidth-intensive telemetry, tracking, and advertising connections required to deliver a profitable experience for content providers is what is really at stake. Without fast, unlimited internet, customers will increasingly turn to ad-block and route blocking software for known advertiser subnets.

Re:the real reason broadband is so important.

[TrekkieGod]

You're not wrong that they're pushing for it due to business opportunities, but telemetry and advertising aren't the only business opportunities that come with fast internet. Everybody is hopping on the streaming media bandwagon. And if you're Microsoft instead of Netflix or Hulu, they provide services like azure and skype, office 365, all of which benefit from broadband.

You're not wrong that increased access to broadband is good for megacorporations. You're way off base to imply it's one-sided, and especially in the implication that their benefit is entirely for services that go against the end-user interest.

Money Talks

[nehumanuscrede]

Especially in rural areas.

Broadband -might- be available ( heavy emphasis on might ) but the costs for high speed internet out there are a bit high which tends to drive most folks away from it.

Example where my parents live ( US ):

5MB down - $70.00
10MB down - $90.00
25MB down - $110.00

Internet only. Advertised speeds you may, of course, never achieve. They have exactly one provider to choose from.

Most get a better connection / price via a smartphone / hotspot. ( assuming a tower is in the general vicinity )

Definition of "broadband" changed in 2015

[bartwol]

In 2015, the FCC upped the definition of "broadband" from 4 Mbps to 25 Mbps (https://broadbandnow.com/report/fcc-broadband-definition/)

In the New York Times article, statistical truth is obscured by political mission.