If you're reading this, consider yourself part of the connected majority. If you're not, obviously, you're on the wrong side of the "digital divide."
The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on Thursday launched the National Broadband Map, a searchable, nationwide map of broadband Internet availability.
Actually a multitude of maps based on open-source databases containing approximately 25 million records, the project was five years in the making, at a cost of $200 million.
"It's more than just a map," NTIA administrator Lawrence Strickling told reporters on a conference call. "It's a huge database of information that's going to be available to anyone to make use of. ... We think it's an unprecedented event in government data sets."
In Utah, a ZIP code entry of 84101 on the map indicates the following broadband providers and speeds (wired and wireless data, as of June 30, 2010):
Advertised speeds above 3 mbps:
Comcast Corporation: 50-100 mbps
Covad Communications Group, Inc.: 6-10 mbps
Integra Telecom Holdings, Inc.: 6-10 mbps
Clearwire Corporation: 6-10 mbps
WirelessBeehive.com LLC: 6-10 mbps
JAB Wireless, Inc.: 6-10 mbps
Verizon Communications Inc.: 3-6 mbps
Qwest Communications International, Inc.: 3-6 mbps
Utah Broadband: 3-6 mbps
Advertised speeds above 768 kbps and below 3 mbps
AT&T Inc.: 1.5-3 mbps
Deutsche Telekom AG: 1.5-3 mbps
Leap Wireless International, Inc.: 768 kbps-1.5 mbps
Sprint Nextel Corporation: 768 kbps-1.5 mbps
Acting Commerce Deputy Secretary Rebecca Blank said in a press release: "A state-of-the-art communications infrastructure is essential to America's competitiveness in the global digital economy. But as Congress recognized, we need better data on America's broadband Internet capabilities in order to improve them."
Sara Jerome from The Hill reports the new map "validates" broadband stimulus spending by revealing less than 4 percent of libraries have broadband speeds of faster than 20 mbps. These institutions, including schools, received some of the broadband grants.
However, it's not without its critics. Karl Bode of dslreports.com reviews how the data is interpreted for wireless users, stating that about 95 percent of Americans have access to wireless broadband of at least 768 kbps.
"As we've been discussing, the Obama administration is promising '4G' for 98 percent of the public, though the promise rings hollow when you consider the murky definition of 4G and the fact this goal will probably be achieved without government help."
According to NTIA officials, the map will serve a variety of uses, including allowing policymakers to compare broadband availability in different geographic areas and across demographic groups, "which can inform policies to support private sector investments in deploying broadband. The data can assist broadband providers in assessing new business opportunities and economic developers as they work to attract businesses to, or address barriers to investment in, their communities."
By definition, broadband refers to DSL, cable modem, fiber optics, mobile broadband and other high-speed Internet access services.
A cursory look at the map indicates large swaths of the western and southern U.S. do not have access to wired or fixed wireless broadband.