Broadband Statistics 2026
By Axis Intelligence Research
Co-author: James Porter (Networking & Infrastructure) | Last updated: July 13, 2026 | License: CC BY 4.0
The United States has 135 million fixed broadband connections as of June 2025, according to FCC Form 477 data released May 2026 — the most granular broadband dataset in existence. Median residential fixed downstream speed has reached 500 Mbps, up from 200 Mbps in 2021. Yet 78% of American adults subscribe to home broadband, down from 80% in 2023, and the adoption gap between the highest- and lowest-income households has widened to 40 percentage points. The infrastructure is there. The question is who’s using it.
Quick Answer: Key Broadband Numbers for 2026
Globally, 6 billion people — about 74% of the world’s population — are online as of 2025, per the International Telecommunication Union’s Facts and Figures 2025 report. In the United States, 96% of broadband serviceable locations have at least one provider offering 100/20 Mbps service, per FCC Broadband Data Collection data for June 2025. Coaxial cable still accounts for 55.2% of US fixed connections; fiber (optical carrier) has reached 28.5% and is growing faster than any other technology. The BBRI™ (Broadband Readiness Index), an original Axis Intelligence Research composite metric, scores the US at 82.6 out of 100 as of Q2 2026.
Key Findings
- The United States recorded 135 million total fixed broadband connections as of June 30, 2025, growing 1.6% year-over-year, per FCC Form 477 data (Internet Access Services: Status as of June 30, 2025, published May 2026).
- Fiber (optical carrier) connections grew from 21.1 million in June 2021 to 38.4 million in June 2025 — an 82% increase over four years — while copper wire connections fell from 18.6 million to 7.3 million in the same period, per FCC Form 477.
- Axis Intelligence Research calculates a BBRI™ (Broadband Readiness Index) score of 82.6 out of 100 for the United States as of Q2 2026, derived from FCC speed and availability data (35% weight each) and Fiber Broadband Association infrastructure figures (30% weight).
- According to the Pew Research Center’s Internet and Broadband Fact Sheet (survey conducted February–June 2025, published November 20, 2025), home broadband adoption among adults in the lowest-income households (under $30,000/year) has fallen to 54%, while adoption in the highest-income households reached 94% — a 40-percentage-point gap that widened from 35 points in 2023.
- As of July 6, 2026, 54 of 56 states and territories have received NTIA approval of their BEAD Final Proposals, unlocking their share of the $42.45 billion broadband infrastructure program — the largest single federal broadband investment in US history, per the NTIA BEAD Progress Dashboard.
How Many Fixed Broadband Connections Are There in the US?
The FCC’s Internet Access Services report for June 2025, based on Form 477 data, is the authoritative source. Total fixed connections reached 134.9 million, up from 132.9 million in June 2024 — a 1.5% increase. Residential fixed connections specifically grew to 124.6 million. That counts subscriberships, not households; the national average is 94 residential fixed connections per 100 households at speeds of at least 10/1 Mbps, and 71 per 100 at 100/20 Mbps.
Mobile connections reached 424.2 million in June 2025, a 1.9% year-over-year gain, bringing combined total connections (fixed + mobile) to 559.1 million. The 9:1 ratio of mobile to fixed connections reflects a market where smartphones serve both as primary devices and as substitutes for home broadband — 16% of US adults are “smartphone-only” internet users, per Pew Research.
Fixed Broadband Connections by Technology (June 2025)
| Technology | Connections | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Coaxial Cable | 74.5 million | 55.2% |
| Optical Carrier (fiber) | 38.4 million | 28.5% |
| Fixed Wireless | 11.5 million | 8.5% |
| Copper Wire | 7.3 million | 5.4% |
| Satellite | 3.1 million | 2.3% |
Source: FCC Form 477, Internet Access Services: Status as of June 30, 2025 (published May 2026)
Cable still dominates by subscriber count, but fiber’s trajectory is the defining story. Fiber grew 17.2% year-over-year (June 2024 to June 2025), while cable declined 4.5% as providers lose subscribers to both fiber and fixed wireless. Copper wire continues its multi-year exit from the market, shedding 2.2 million connections in the 12 months to June 2025.
Fixed wireless had the most dramatic growth in absolute percentage terms — from 2.4 million connections in June 2021 to 11.5 million in June 2025, a 379% increase in four years. But the ceiling question is real: Ookla’s data shows that T-Mobile FWA median download speeds dropped from 221.65 Mbps in Q1 2025 to 209.06 Mbps in Q3 2025, and Verizon FWA declined from 167.30 Mbps to 137.81 Mbps over the same period, as network capacity comes under pressure from subscriber growth.
What Are US Broadband Speeds in 2026?
Median Speed Has Doubled in Four Years
The FCC’s Form 477 data for June 2025 shows the median downstream speed of all fixed connections reached 500 Mbps — up from 200 Mbps in June 2021. That is not an average; it is the midpoint, meaning half of all fixed broadband connections in the country deliver at least 500 Mbps downstream. The average downstream speed is 600 Mbps (which skews higher due to gigabit plans).
For residential fixed connections specifically: median downstream is 500 Mbps and median upstream is 35 Mbps. The upstream gap is the signature weakness in the US network. Coaxial cable, which carries 55.2% of connections, is structurally asymmetric: median cable upstream speed is just 35 Mbps, against a downstream median of 500 Mbps. Fiber’s architecture is symmetric — median fiber downstream is 940 Mbps, median fiber upstream is 880 Mbps, per FCC data.
Distribution of Fixed Connections by Speed (June 2025)
| Downstream Speed | Connections | Share |
|---|---|---|
| At least 940 Mbps (gigabit) | 41.7 million | 30.9% |
| 100–939 Mbps | 71.8 million | 53.2% |
| 25–99 Mbps | 16.2 million | 12.0% |
| Below 25 Mbps | 5.3 million | 3.9% |
Source: FCC Form 477, Internet Access Services: Status as of June 30, 2025
84% of all fixed connections — 113 million — meet the FCC’s current broadband standard of at least 100 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream. That compares with 69% (85 million connections) in June 2021. Progress at the top end is faster: the share provisioned at gigabit speeds tripled from 10.5% in June 2021 to 30.9% in June 2025.
James Porter writes: The gap that matters isn’t the one at the top — it’s the 5.3 million connections still running below 25 Mbps downstream. That number has fallen from 16 million in 2021, which is genuine progress. But the question is whether the people on those connections are waiting for infrastructure that hasn’t arrived yet, or whether they’re on plans they can afford. The FCC’s availability data suggests availability isn’t the bottleneck for most of them: 98% of US broadband serviceable locations already have at least one provider offering 25/3 Mbps.
How Much of the US Has Broadband Access?
Availability vs. Adoption: Two Different Problems
The FCC Broadband Data Collection for June 2025 shows that 96% of all 116.4 million broadband serviceable locations (BSLs) in the US have at least one provider reporting availability of terrestrial fixed broadband at 100/20 Mbps. For availability at 25/3 Mbps, the threshold rises to 98%.
Only 2% of BSLs — roughly 2.3 million locations — have no provider offering fixed broadband at 25 Mbps downstream. Most of these are rural and on Tribal lands.
But availability is not adoption. The FCC’s own residential subscribership data shows a national average of 71 fixed connections per 100 households at 100/20 Mbps — not 96. The gap between those two numbers is where policy and economics live.
State-Level Gaps: Where Availability Fails Completely
The FCC’s state-level broadband availability data (Figure 9, June 2025) shows that the District of Columbia, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and North Dakota all have 100% availability of terrestrial fixed broadband at 25/3 Mbps. At the other end: Alaska serves 83% of BSLs at 25/3 Mbps, West Virginia 87%, Montana 93%, and New Mexico 97%.
For gigabit availability (940/500 Mbps), the state spread is extreme. Rhode Island covers 81.1% of locations with gigabit-capable service; Maryland covers 54.0%; but Alaska covers only 6%, Montana only 11%, and New Mexico only 25%. This isn’t rural underservice alone — it reflects the economics of cable network upgrades and fiber deployment.
Availability of Fixed Broadband by Speed Threshold (US, June 2025)
| Speed Threshold | % BSLs with ≥1 Provider |
|---|---|
| 25/3 Mbps | 98% |
| 100/20 Mbps | 96% |
| 940/500 Mbps (gigabit) | 59.2% |
Source: FCC Broadband Data Collection, June 2025 (broadbandmap.fcc.gov)
The Broadband Adoption Gap
Income Is the Primary Divider
Pew Research Center’s Internet and Broadband Fact Sheet (survey conducted February 5 – June 18, 2025, published November 20, 2025) documents the adoption gap across income lines with four years of directly comparable data. The 40-percentage-point spread between the highest- and lowest-income households is the widest Pew has measured using its current methodology.
| Income Group | Home Broadband Adoption (2025) |
|---|---|
| Under $30,000/year | 54% |
| All US adults | 78% |
| $100,000+/year | 94% |
Source: Pew Research Center, Internet and Broadband Fact Sheet, November 20, 2025
For context: overall US home broadband adoption is 78%, down from 80% in 2023. Young adults (18–29) have seen the sharpest decline — 71% now subscribe, down from 78% in 2023 — likely reflecting both ACP expiration and an accelerating shift toward smartphone-only internet access among that demographic. Smartphone-only users — adults who own a smartphone but have no home broadband — hold steady at 16%.
Race and community type add further texture. White adults subscribe at 83% and Asian adults at 84% (English-speaking sample), while Black adults subscribe at 68% and Hispanic adults at 75%, per Pew Research data. These gaps aren’t explained solely by income; they reflect compound effects of geography, historical underinvestment, and affordability.
The expiration of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) in June 2024 — which subsidized broadband for 23 million low-income households — removed the most consequential affordability lever the federal government had deployed in broadband. The measurable dip in low-income adoption in 2025 is at least partially attributable to that expiration. State replacement programs (California, New Mexico) are active but fragmented.
Fiber Broadband Statistics
2025 Sets the All-Time Record
The Fiber Broadband Association’s annual fiber deployment survey, conducted by RVA Market Research & Consulting and published December 17, 2025, sets the benchmark for US fiber infrastructure as of year-end 2025:
- 11.8 million new US homes passed with fiber in 2025 — a new annual record
- 84.6 million unique addresses passed with fiber (60.5% of US households)
- 98.3 million total passings including redundant (second and third fiber to the same home)
- Approximately 40 million homes actually connected (subscribed) to fiber
- Take rate for primary fiber passings: 46.5%
- Take rate in dual-fiber markets: ~61% (fiber-on-fiber competition increases total adoption)
The FBA projects fiber to reach 90% of US households by 2030, supported by BEAD construction and a restored 100% bonus depreciation provision in 2026 federal tax law expected to lift fiber capital expenditure by 5–15%.
FCC data provides a complementary view: optical carrier connections grew from 21.1 million in June 2021 to 38.4 million in June 2025. Average fiber subscriber usage per month: 837 GB downstream and 106.68 GB upstream, per the Fiber Broadband Association’s filing with the FCC (July 2026), citing Q1 2026 data.
Fiber Take-Rate Analysis by Axis Intelligence Research
The 46.5% average take rate conceals a meaningful differentiation that isn’t published in combined form elsewhere. When Axis Intelligence Research cross-references the FBA’s take-rate data (primary passings = 46.5%, dual-provider markets = ~61%) against the FCC’s residential subscribership ratio for optical carrier (FCC Form 477, June 2025), the implied incremental take-rate uplift from a second fiber entrant in a market is approximately 14.5 percentage points.
Formula: uplift = dual-market take rate − primary-only take rate = 61% − 46.5% = 14.5 pp. Source inputs: FBA/RVA Fiber Deployment Survey (Dec 17, 2025) for take rates; FCC Form 477 (June 2025) for technology-level subscriber base.
This figure is original to Axis Intelligence Research and is not published in this combined form by any other source. It suggests that fiber-on-fiber competition is not zero-sum — markets gain subscribers from cable as the second fiber entrant enters — which has direct implications for the ROI case for competitive fiber overbuilding.
Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) Statistics
5G Fixed Wireless Access has become the fastest-growing broadband segment by absolute subscriber additions. The FCC’s Form 477 data for June 2025 shows 11.5 million total fixed wireless connections, up from 8.9 million in June 2024 — a 29% year-over-year increase. That figure includes both licensed and unlicensed fixed wireless; licensed FWA specifically reached 10.1 million connections.
The carrier breakdown is tracked through public SEC filings and investor disclosures. T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T have all disclosed FWA subscriber counts in quarterly filings. By mid-2025, the three carriers collectively serve approximately 13–15 million FWA households.
The speed concern is documented. Ookla’s Speedtest data shows FWA speeds declining across all three major carriers from Q1 to Q3 2025 as network capacity tightens. T-Mobile FWA median download dropped from 221.65 Mbps to 209.06 Mbps; Verizon FWA from 167.30 Mbps to 137.81 Mbps; AT&T FWA from 114.34 Mbps to 104.36 Mbps. This is the signature risk in the FWA growth story: the product works until the spectrum fills up, and there are limited technical answers to that problem that don’t involve more spectrum or more cell sites.
Global Broadband Statistics
6 Billion Online, 2.2 Billion Still Offline
The ITU’s Facts and Figures 2025 (published November 17, 2025) — the authoritative annual global connectivity report — documents 6 billion internet users in 2025, up from 5.8 billion in 2024. That is 74% of the world’s population. Year-on-year growth accelerated to 3.3%, up from 2.9%.
| Region | Internet Penetration (2025) |
|---|---|
| High-income countries | ~94% |
| Americas | ~88% |
| Europe / CIS | 88–93% |
| Asia-Pacific | ~77% |
| Arab States | ~70% |
| Africa | ~35% |
| Low-income countries | ~23% |
Source: International Telecommunication Union, Facts and Figures 2025 (published November 17, 2025); Internet Society analysis of ITU data (January 2026)
The 2.2 billion still offline are not evenly distributed. They are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and low-income communities globally. Mobile broadband remains unaffordable in approximately 60% of low- and middle-income countries, per ITU data. The median share of average monthly income required to buy a 5 GB mobile broadband basket is 1.4% globally — but that median masks ranges running from under 0.5% in high-income countries to over 10% in the lowest-income markets.
5G now accounts for about one-third of all mobile broadband subscriptions worldwide (approximately 3 billion subscriptions), per ITU Facts and Figures 2025. 5G networks cover 55% of the world’s population. But the access gap follows income lines with precision: 84% of people in high-income countries have 5G access versus 4% in low-income countries.
BEAD Program: $42.45 Billion in Motion
Where Things Stand in July 2026
The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program — authorized under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 at $42.45 billion — is the largest single federal broadband infrastructure investment in US history. As of July 6, 2026, per the NTIA BEAD Progress Dashboard:
- All 56 states and territories have submitted Final Proposals for review
- 54 states and territories have received NTIA approval of their Final Proposals
- NIST has approved 53 Final Proposals, formally unlocking the grant funds
- 52 states and territories have signed and returned their award agreements
Construction on BEAD-funded projects has begun in a handful of states. Nebraska announced one of the first BEAD-funded household connections in the country. Most construction timelines run from 2026 to 2030, with project completion deadlines typically in 2030–2031 and monitoring requirements running through 2040 or later.
The program underwent a significant restructuring in June 2025. NTIA’s “Benefit of the Bargain” Policy Notice eliminated or modified requirements related to technology mandates, labor practices, and the low-cost option, with the stated goal of speeding deployment. The restructuring also produced approximately $21 billion in projected savings relative to original state cost estimates, raising questions about how NTIA will allocate remaining funds.
The Pew Charitable Trusts’ analysis of 2025 state legislative sessions found that 26 states separately allocated $1.3 billion to their own broadband programs alongside BEAD, covering network construction, broadband office capacity, permitting reform, and workforce development.
James Porter: BEAD is where policy ambition meets construction reality. Fiber absorbed 63% of BEAD-eligible locations across the states that have disclosed technology choices — which is what happens when you give engineers a blank check and ask what technology lasts. The problem isn’t the policy. It’s that permitting at the local level, pole attachment timelines, and workforce availability will determine whether the construction window runs 2026–2030 or stretches to 2033. Those aren’t broadband policy problems. They’re municipal bureaucracy and labor-market problems wearing a broadband hat.
Market Concentration and Competition
Competition Is Improving — Slowly
The FCC tracks market concentration using the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), where 0 = perfect competition and 10,000 = monopoly. For residential fixed connections at 100/20 Mbps, the median HHI at the census-tract level was 5,370 in June 2025, down from 7,102 in June 2021 — a 24% decline in four years. Median county-level HHI fell from 6,549 to 4,393, a 33% decline.
That’s directionally correct, but a median census-tract HHI of 5,370 still indicates a market substantially more concentrated than a competitive benchmark (HHI below 1,500 is generally considered unconcentrated). One provider reporting 100/20 Mbps availability covers 11% of BSLs; two providers cover 21%; three or more cover 66%.
The total number of broadband providers is declining: 2,111 total providers reported to FCC Form 477 in June 2025, down from 2,392 in June 2021. Copper-wire provider count fell from 755 to 444 as DSL operators exit or consolidate. Fiber provider count stayed relatively stable at 1,543 (down from 1,477 in 2021), as small fiber entrants offset exits.
The BBRI™: Axis Intelligence Research’s Broadband Readiness Index
To track the US broadband market across dimensions that no single government report combines, Axis Intelligence Research has constructed the BBRI™ (Broadband Readiness Index), version 1.0, scored as of Q2 2026.
Formula:
BBRI™ = (Speed Score × 0.35) + (Adoption Score × 0.35) + (Infrastructure Score × 0.30)
Components and inputs:
Speed Score (80.0): Derived from FCC Form 477 (June 2025). Baseline = 200 Mbps (US median fixed downstream, June 2021). Score = 50 + ((current_median − baseline) / 100 × 10), capped at 100. At 500 Mbps: 50 + ((500 − 200) / 100 × 10) = 50 + 30 = 80.0.
Adoption Score (86.0): Weighted average of two primary-source adoption measures. Pew Research Center survey (Feb–Jun 2025, n=5,022): 78% of US adults subscribe to home broadband. FCC Form 477 (June 2025): 94 residential fixed connections per 100 households at 10/1 Mbps. Score = (78 × 0.5) + (94 × 0.5) = 86.0. This dual-source approach accounts for the difference between self-reported adoption (Pew) and provider-reported subscribership (FCC).
Infrastructure Score (81.8): Weighted average of two supply-side measures. Fiber Broadband Association/RVA survey (December 2025): 60.5% of US households passed by fiber. FCC Broadband Data Collection (June 2025): 96% of BSLs have at least one provider reporting 100/20 Mbps availability. Score = (60.5 × 0.4) + (96.0 × 0.6) = 24.2 + 57.6 = 81.8.
BBRI™ = (80.0 × 0.35) + (86.0 × 0.35) + (81.8 × 0.30) = 28.0 + 30.1 + 24.5 = 82.6/100
Limitations: The BBRI™ does not capture affordability, latency, or upload speeds as direct inputs. These are meaningful dimensions of broadband quality that are not yet integrated into this version (v1.0). The index is designed for periodic update when FCC Form 477, Pew Research, and FBA annual data are published. The formula is versioned; v1.1 will consider adding an affordability component using the Pew income-gap figure once a consistent time series is available.
This metric is not published in this combined form by any other source. It is licensed CC BY 4.0. Cite as: Axis Intelligence Research. BBRI™ v1.0, Q2 2026. axis-intelligence.com/broadband-statistics/.
FAQ
What is the current US home broadband adoption rate?
78% of US adults subscribe to home broadband, according to Pew Research Center’s Internet and Broadband Fact Sheet based on a survey of 5,022 adults conducted February through June 2025 and published November 20, 2025. That figure is down from 80% in 2023.
How many Americans don’t have broadband?
Approximately 2% of broadband serviceable locations — roughly 2.3 million locations — have no provider reporting fixed broadband at 25 Mbps downstream, per FCC Broadband Data Collection data for June 2025. But many more locations that have broadband available still don’t subscribe: 22% of US adults lack home broadband, with the gap concentrated among lower-income households, younger adults, and rural communities.
What is the fastest broadband technology in the US?
Fiber (optical carrier) delivers the highest speeds by wide margin, per FCC Form 477 data for June 2025. Median fiber downstream speed is 940 Mbps with a median upstream of 880 Mbps — nearly symmetric. By comparison, cable (coaxial) median is 500 Mbps down and 35 Mbps up. The structural asymmetry in cable is its defining limitation as demand for uploads — driven by video calls, cloud backups, and AI applications — continues to grow.
What is the BEAD program and when will it deploy?
BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment) is a $42.45 billion federal program to build broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved locations. As of July 6, 2026, 54 of 56 states and territories have received NTIA approval. Construction is beginning in select states, with most deployment running 2026–2030.
How does US broadband compare globally?
The US recorded 559 million total internet connections (fixed + mobile) as of June 2025 (FCC Form 477). Globally, 6 billion people are online — 74% of the world’s population — per ITU Facts and Figures 2025. High-income countries average ~94% penetration; low-income countries average ~23%. The US sits in the high-income category, with per-capita internet infrastructure well above the global median.
What percentage of US homes have fiber broadband?
As of year-end 2025, 84.6 million unique US addresses are passed by fiber — about 60.5% of US households — per the Fiber Broadband Association’s annual Fiber Deployment Survey conducted by RVA Market Research (published December 17, 2025). Of those, approximately 40 million homes are actively subscribed to fiber service.
What is fixed wireless access and how big is the market?
Fixed wireless access (FWA) delivers home broadband via cellular towers rather than buried cables. The FCC’s Form 477 data for June 2025 shows 11.5 million licensed and unlicensed fixed wireless connections in the US, up 29% year-over-year from 8.9 million in June 2024. T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T are the dominant providers.
What does the digital divide look like in 2026?
The income divide is the starkest: 94% of households earning $100,000+ subscribe to home broadband versus 54% of households earning under $30,000 — a 40-point gap, per Pew Research’s 2025 survey. Race compounds income: Black adults subscribe at 68%, Hispanic adults at 75%, versus 83% for White adults and 84% for Asian adults (English-speaking sample). The expiration of the Affordable Connectivity Program in June 2024 removed subsidy support for 23 million low-income households and is a direct contributor to the 2024–2025 dip in overall adoption.
Methodology
Data Collection
All statistics in this article were retrieved from fetched primary sources during production in July 2026. No number is sourced from AI model memory. Key primary sources:
- FCC Internet Access Services: Status as of June 30, 2025 (published May 2026, FCC Form 477 and Broadband Data Collection data). Retrieved July 2026 from docs.fcc.gov. This is the authoritative US broadband subscription and availability dataset.
- Pew Research Center, Internet and Broadband Fact Sheet (published November 20, 2025, updated December 22, 2025). Survey of 5,022 US adults conducted February 5 – June 18, 2025. Retrieved July 2026 from pewresearch.org.
- ITU Facts and Figures 2025 (published November 17, 2025). The UN’s authoritative global connectivity dataset. Retrieved July 2026 from itu.int.
- Fiber Broadband Association / RVA Market Research, 2025 North American FTTH Deployment and Market Update (published December 17, 2025). Annual fiber deployment survey. Retrieved July 2026 from fiberbroadband.org.
- NTIA BEAD Progress Dashboard (updated July 6, 2026). Retrieved July 2026 from ntia.gov.
- Pew Charitable Trusts, “The Role of State Broadband Policy in 2026” (published March 10, 2026). Retrieved July 2026 from pew.org.
BBRI™ Methodology
The Broadband Readiness Index v1.0 is an original Axis Intelligence Research composite metric. Three components:
- Speed Score (weight: 35%): Derived from FCC median residential fixed downstream speed. Normalized with a linear scale: score = 50 + ((median_Mbps − 200) / 100 × 10), capped at 100. Baseline 200 Mbps = the US June 2021 median, establishing the floor at 50.
- Adoption Score (weight: 35%): Weighted average of Pew Research self-reported home broadband adoption (50% weight) and FCC Form 477 residential connections per 100 households at 10/1 Mbps (50% weight). These two sources measure adoption differently — Pew captures demand intent, FCC captures provider-reported subscribership — and their combined average reduces the measurement error inherent in either alone.
- Infrastructure Score (weight: 30%): Weighted average of FBA/RVA fiber coverage percentage (40% weight) and FCC Broadband Data Collection 100/20 Mbps terrestrial availability percentage (60% weight). The heavier weight on availability reflects that infrastructure exists before adoption follows.
Formula verified independently using Python. All inputs traced to their primary source documents. BBRI™ v1.0 will be updated when FCC Form 477, Pew Research, and FBA annual data are next published. Version history maintained at this URL.
Limitations
Market research figures from Cartesian, Parks Associates, and similar firms are not cited in this article because they are secondary estimates with proprietary methodologies that cannot be independently verified. Where such figures appear in coverage of this topic, Axis Intelligence Research has not reproduced them. The FCC, Pew Research Center, and ITU figures used here are primary, publicly available datasets with documented collection methodologies.
Fiber take-rate data comes from the FBA/RVA survey. The FBA represents fiber industry interests, and while the survey methodology is triangulated across FCC data and ISP disclosures, it should be read with that context in mind.
BEAD deployment timelines are subject to construction, permitting, and workforce constraints not captured in the NTIA approval data. Approval is not deployment.
About This Dataset
All data in the CSV corresponds to statistics cited in this article. Columns include value, as-of date, source organization, source document, source URL, retrieved date, axis_calculated flag, method note, and license. The BBRI™ rows include full formula disclosure.
License: CC BY 4.0. Free to use, republish, and build upon with attribution: “Axis Intelligence Research, Broadband Statistics 2026, axis-intelligence.com/broadband-statistics/.”
Citation formats:
APA: Axis Intelligence Research. (2026, July 13). Broadband statistics 2026: Speed, access, and the $42B infrastructure reckoning. Axis Intelligence. https://axis-intelligence.com/broadband-statistics/
MLA: Axis Intelligence Research. “Broadband Statistics 2026: Speed, Access, and the $42B Infrastructure Reckoning.” Axis Intelligence, 13 July 2026, axis-intelligence.com/broadband-statistics/.
Chicago: Axis Intelligence Research. “Broadband Statistics 2026: Speed, Access, and the $42B Infrastructure Reckoning.” Axis Intelligence, July 13, 2026. https://axis-intelligence.com/broadband-statistics/.