In terms of broadband access, Connecticut ranks solidly as the state with the 10th-best connection in the US. With very even coverage throughout every county, Connecticuters enjoy widely-available high-speed access. In fact, 99% of Connecticut’s residents have access to a wired connection capable of 100 Mbps or faster. However, the state still has remarkably low fiber-optic access, with barely over 4% having access to fiber services. Average download speeds in Connecticut have been measured at about 172.0 Mbps, which is faster than even higher-ranking Texas, District of Colombia, Illinois, Florida, and Rhode Island.
The Digital Divide in Connecticut
For the most part, Connecticut’s population has fairly equal access to high-speed internet. However, a digital divide remains between those who have access to a fast, low-priced wired connection and those who do not, as revealed in the following data.
For example, while 99.1% of Connecticuters have access to a wired broadband connection with 25 Mbps speeds or faster, 32,000 people remain without a wired option capable of the same speeds available to them, and another 7,000 people in Connecticut do not have any wired internet providers offering services where they live. An additional, 165,000 people in Connecticut have access to only one wired provider, leaving them no options to switch, despite the fact that there are 84 internet providers currently operating in Connecticut.
Further, affordability data shows that 30.9% of Connecticuters have access to a low-priced monthly internet plan, costing $60 or less per month. This is over 20% lower than the national average of 51.5% of Americans who have a low-priced internet plan available to them.
Best-Connected Cities
While Connecticut is fairly well-connected as a whole, a few cities outrank the rest in terms of offering the best combo of internet coverage, speeds, and low costs. The top five highest-ranking cities in Connecticut are Stamford, Bridgeport, Fairfield, Westport, and New Canaan, with Stamford topping the list as best in the state.
Internet for Rural Areas in Connecticut
On the flip side, the five cities with the worst connection in the state are Milldale, Marion, Gilman, Hanover, and East Canaan, with Milldale bottoming out as the lowest ranking city in Connecticut.
See how Connecticut’s broadband compares to the other states nationwide.
Governmental Initiatives
Since 2010, $3,782,938 in federal grant funding has gone toward fueling broadband mapping and data development through the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Another $93,855,029 in federal grants has been awarded to the Connecticut Department of Information Technology to fund the expansion of broadband infrastructure.
Currently, the Connecticut State Broadband Office is working to “facilitate the availability of broadband access to every state citizen and to increase access to and the adoption of ultra-high-speed gigabit-capable broadband networks.”
The information above is taken from a mix of public and private datasets. More about our data here.