Internet Access

Nearly half of Southern counties have poor internet access, compared to only 16% of counties outside the South.

Lack of internet access by county, 2015-19

Counties where 25% or more of households report no internet access

Source: U.S. Dept of Commerce NTIA/ Census Bureau’s American Community Survey

Broadband internet access has become an essential utility for every American family. It is particularly important for school children to support homework and education. A majority of eighth-graders reported using the internet to do homework in 2018, but this was most common among suburban students (65%) and least common among rural students (44%).¹

Indeed, lack of internet is particularly a problem in rural America. The majority of rural residents in the U.S. felt access to high-speed internet was a significant problem in 2018.² According to the most recent data (2019), 46% of Southern counties have poor internet access, whereas only 16% of counties outside the South have poor access. 1 in 5 households lacks a computer or internet in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas.³ An October 2020 analysis by Microsoft found that 1 in 3 (or 19.4 million) K-12 students were not accessing the internet at broadband speeds.⁴

During the pandemic, Congress approved funding for subsidies for devices and broadband service but the funding was limited and only served roughly 6 million households.5 Just as investments in the U.S. Interstate Highway System laid the foundation for the American economy from 1960 onward, additional investments in broadband will be needed to lay a solid foundation for America’s economy for the 21st century.

1. “As schools close due to the coronavirus, some U.S. students face a digital ‘homework gap.’” Auxier, Anderson. Pew Research Center. March, 2020. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/03/16/as-schools-close-due-to-the-coronavirus-some-u-s-students-face-a-digital-homework-gap/

2. About a quarter of rural Americans say access to high-speed internet is a major problem.” Anderson. Pew Research Center. September, 2018. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/09/10/about-a-quarter-of-rural-americans-say-access-to-high-speed-internet-is-a-major-problem/

3. “Pandemic to Prosperity: South”. Ross, Plyer, Ortiz, and Coates. National Conference on Citizenship. April, 2021. https://www.ncoc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/210413-P2PSouth-3.pdf

4. “FCC indicates broadband is not available to ~14.5M people”. https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYzlhZWIyNWEtMDlkOS00MWJkLWExZGYtOWQ3NTNjNzJiNDIwIiwidCI6ImMxMzZlZWMwLWZlOTItNDVlMC1iZWFlLTQ2OTg0OTczZTIzMiIsImMiOjF9

5. “Emergency Broadband Benefit Program Enrollments and Claims Tracker”. Universal Service Administrative Co. https://www.usac.org/about/emergency-broadband-benefit-program/emergency-broadband-benefit-program-enrollments-and-claims-tracker/