Marking GIS Day, Connect Michigan Releases New Broadband Availability Data

LANSING (WWJ) -- To support GIS Day, Connect Michigan announced new broadband data showing the broadband availability gap is declining.

The organization reported that 98.37 percent of Michigan residents now have access to broadband speeds of 10 megabits per second download and 1.5 megabits per second upload, up more than 2 percent from 95.89 percent reported in April 2013.

To view the group's access tables, visit www.connectmi.org/planning, and to view its access map, visit www.connectmi.org/interactive-map.

"We have seen many new and existing broadband service providers investing and expanding service into previously unserved or underserved rural areas," said Connect Michigan state program manager Eric Frederick. "While some
communities still struggle with broadband access, Connect Michigan's Connected Community Engagement Program is working to identify these areas and connect them with service providers that are able to expand."

GIS Day celebrates the use of geographic information systems to analyze diverse topics in local, state, federal, and international applications. Connect Michigan has been working since 2009 to ensure that Michigan residents have access to the economic, educational, and quality-of-life benefits derived from increased broadband access, adoption, and use. Part of that work includes maintaining detailed GIS analysis of broadband availability across the state to support broadband planning efforts. This is the eighth round of releasing these data.

Among the findings of the new broadband availability research are:
* 97.73 percent of households have access to fixed broadband speeds of 3 Mbps download/768 Kbps upload or higher, the relevant metric the FCC uses to determine eligibility for Connect America Fund subsidies.
* Broadband availability at 6 Mbps download/1.5 Mbps upload increased more than 2 percent from 96.29% in April 2013 to its current 98.50 percent (including mobile wireless, but excluding satellite services).
* Broadband availability at 10 Mbps download/1.5 Mbps upload increased
more than 2 percent from 95.89 percent in April 2013 to its current 98.37 percent (including mobile wireless, but excluding satellite services).
* 68.35 percent of Michigan's households now have access to fixed wireless broadband service; this is an increase of 37 percent from October 2011.
* 83.33 percent of Michigan's households now have access to broadband service of at least 50 Mbps download/1.5 Mbps upload, excluding mobile wireless and satellite services; this is an increase of 34 percent from October 2011.
* 83.30 percent of Michigan's households now have access to broadband service of at least 100 Mbps download/1.5 Mbps upload, excluding mobile wireless and satellite services; this is an increase of 60 percent since October 2011.

Last month, Connect Michigan hosted a statewide broadband conference drawing more than 500 participants at the event and via livestream. Through its Connected Community Engagement Program, Connect Michigan is currently working with 25 communities across the state to support comprehensive community broadband planning efforts and provide technical
assistance.

Connect Michigan's research was conducted as part of the State Broadband Initiative grant program for Michigan, funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The data were gathered in accordance with the requirements of the NTIA.

The process begins by contacting all known providers in the state and providing information about the broadband mapping project. Information on broadband service areas is collected from each provider through voluntary participation and is subject to confidentiality protections. Connected Nation strives to maintain a flexible mapping process to collect data from providers in a variety of formats based on providers' technical capabilities and resources.

As the designated entity for broadband mapping and planning in the state of Michigan, Connect Michigan is a public-private partnership between the Michigan Public Service Commission and Connected Nation to work with local governments, businesses, and citizens in the goal of increasing broadband service in the state's underserved areas.

For more information about what Connect Michigan is doing to accelerate technology in Michigan's communities, visit www.connectmi.org.