North Carolina's broadband speeds are in line with the U.S. average but rank 38th nationwide, according to a labor union that represents telecommunications workers.
The Commmunications Workers of American issued its finding today as part of the union's support of increasing broadband access and speed for the public -- a goal everyone seems to share but one that has proven difficult to achieve.
According to the CWA, the Tar Heel state's median speed is 3 megabits per second, which is below the federal recommended standard or 4 megabits per second. However, more than half this state's counties exceed the Federal Communication Commission's minimum recommended standard, including Wake and Mecklenburg counties.
The CWA compiled its data by offering a broadband speed-testing web site to the public. More than 375,000 people in the country took the brief test, including more than 10,000 in North Carolina.
The site is still open and results compiled now will figure in the CWA's annual results next year.
The nation's fastest broadband speeds are in Delaware, which boasts a median download speed that's more than 13 megabitts per second. That's four times faster than North Carolina's median speed. Delaware's median speed even exceeds the single fastest county in North Carolina -- Onslow, which has a median speed of 8.9 megabits per second.
Alaska came in dead last with a median download speed of 1 megabit per second.
The slowest county in North Carolina is Hyde, posting a median download speed of 0.64 megabits per second. Others with above-average download speeds include Rockingham (8.4 megabits per second), Wilson (8.3 megabits), Wake (6.7) and Mecklenburg (6.4).
John Murawski has been a full-time newspaper reporter since 1991, with stints at Legal Times and The Chronicle of Philanthropy (both in Washington, DC), The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Palm Beach Post (in South Florida) before arriving at the N&O in December 2004. At the N&O he covers energy (nuclear, coal, renewable, efficiency), hydralic fracturing (or "fracking"), public utilities (both electric and natural gas) and health care. His beat includes Progress Energy, PSNC Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, PowerSecure International, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Biogen Idec and others. You can reach him at 919-829-8932 or
Comments
Broadband in Wilson
Fri, 12/17/2010 - 12:44 — Brian_BowmanFull disclosure: I work for the City of Wilson.
The average speed in Wilson is much higher today because of the city's municipal fiber network. The minimum residential speed is 10 Mpbs up and down.
More than 5,000 Wilson households and businesses are members. Reliable broadband is critical infrastructure now.
Links?
Thu, 12/16/2010 - 23:47 — tarheel27410I'm reading this "blog" on the "Internet," but the "link" in the story is color camouflaged to the point that I missed it until the third pass.
May I suggest making links bold for those of us whose eyes are no longer 21?
Interesting, but
Thu, 12/16/2010 - 22:16 — FlowerpowerIf I may make a few suggestions in copy-editing:
"over 13 megabitts" should be "more than 13 megabits"
"That's four times faster than North Carolina" should be "That's four times faster than that of North Carolina" OR "That's four times faster than the (average) download speed in North Carolina" (because a speed cannot be compared to a state).
And "The slowest state . . .is Alaska" should be "The state with the slowest rate is Alaska"--as an example.
Same for "The slowest county."