Ookla Report Shows Digital Divide Remains

A recent Ookla report ranked all 50 U.S. states based on their delivery of the FCC's minimum standard for fixed broadband (100 Mbps download/20 Mbps upload) to Speedtest users. Connecticut, North Dakota, Delaware, Maryland, and other northeastern states topped the performance charts, with at least 60% of their users meeting these standards.

Despite this progress, significant digital divides persist. Washington, Alaska, Illinois, and Oregon show the largest gaps between urban and rural broadband performance. In Alaska, Montana, and Wyoming—three of the least densely populated states—fewer than 40% of users receive the minimum broadband speeds.

New Mexico, Arizona, and Minnesota demonstrated the most improvement between 2023-2024, with New Mexico seeing a remarkable 50% increase in users meeting FCC standards.
Nationally, U.S. fixed broadband performs well globally, ranking 6th worldwide with median download speeds of nearly 280 Mbps as of February 2025. This represents dramatic improvement from just a decade ago when the U.S. averaged only 31 Mbps.

However, the rural-urban divide remains pronounced. While dense urban areas benefit from fiber deployment delivering speeds up to 1,000 Mbps, many rural Americans still struggle with basic connectivity.

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