Connect Alaska Releases Updated Broadband Availability Estimates

Connect Alaska has released broadband availability estimates at the statewide and county levels using the most recently published 2010 Census household data. These availability estimates reveal that 8.6% of Alaska households do not have access to basic broadband service of at least 768 Kbps downstream and 200 Kbps upstream. In addition, the data show that 18.6% of Alaska households do not have access to higher speeds of at least 3 Mbps downstream and 768 Kbps upstream.

Broadband data gathered and submitted to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for inclusion on the National Broadband Map in October 2011 were used to estimate the availability of broadband services at different speeds and technology types.

These new data and maps will help us in our efforts to bring broadband availability and adoption to more areas across Alaska.

Key findings from this update include:

• 91.4% of Alaska households have access to fixed broadband service of at least 768 Kbps downstream and 200 Kbps upstream (excluding mobile and satellite services).
• 81.4% of Alaska households have access to fixed broadband service of at least 3 Mbps downstream and 768 Kbps upstream (excluding mobile and satellite services).
• 8.6% of Alaska households remain unserved by any fixed broadband provider, representing approximately 22,200 unserved households that do not have access to a fixed wireless or wired broadband service offering (excluding mobile and satellite services).
• Across rural areas of Alaska, the percentage of unserved households by any fixed broadband service is 16.9%, representing approximately 21,400 unserved rural Alaska households.

How do we arrive at these estimates of broadband availability? Using a geoprocessing tool developed by Connected Nation, we combine the 2010 Census household data at the census block level with the broadband service coverage and analyze the demographic information in that overlay. Results are then aggregated to the county and state levels to report estimated availability. Additional information on the process used to estimate these numbers can be found on the Mapping FAQ page, located at http://www.connectak.org/mapping/faqs.

Connect Alaska will continue to update broadband provider service areas and conduct detailed research on the data; working in collaboration with Alaska broadband providers helps determine the true extent of the available network more accurately. Connect Alaska also conducts independent, ongoing validation of the broadband service data submitted by the provider community.

Maps of broadband availability and corresponding analyses are available at http://www.connectak.org/broadband-landscape.

We encourage you to provide feedback on the maps, especially if a discrepancy in broadband coverage is noticed; please let us know about it by filling out the web form located at http://www.connectak.org/broadband-inquiry.

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