High Speed Services for Internet Access (As of 12/31/08)

Congress directed the Commission and the states, in section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, to encourage deployment of advanced telecommunications capability in the United States on a reasonable and timely basis.  To assist in its evaluation of such deployment, in 2000 the Commission instituted a formal data collection program (FCC Form 477), which gathers standardized information about subscribership to high-speed Internet access services from telephone companies, cable system operators, terrestrial wireless service providers, satellite service providers, and any other facilities-based providers of advanced telecommunications capability.  This report summarizes information reported for December 31, 2008, which, for the first time, includes details about subscribership differences among census tracts and counties, as well as states.