A new report shows Hartford’s adoption of broadband Internet beats the national average. The same applies to the state’s other leading metropolitan areas as well.
Broadband access is considered a strong economic driver, according to The Brookings Institute report. It said In 2014, more than 87 million households—or three-quarters of all households nationally—had a broadband Internet subscription.
Connecticut’s three major metropolitan areas all exceed 80 percent. In the Hartford/West Hartford/East Hartford area, 377,635 homes had broadband Internet access in 2014, which represents 80.1 percent of the area’s 467,715 households. Overall, that is a 3.8 percent improvement over 2013.
The New Haven/Milford area saw 249,428 homes with broadband Internet access in 2014, which represents 76.5 percent of the area’s 326,050 households. Overall, that is also a 3.8 percent improvement over 2013.
The Bridgeport/Stamford/Norwalk metropolitan area had the greatest penetration in Connecticut in 2014. Broadband access there is in 285,829 of the area’s 338,421 homes for a rate of 84.3 percent. That is a 1.4 percent improvement over 2013.
The metropolitan area with the highest adoption of broadband internet is San Jose, Calif., at 88.2 percent. Laredo, Texas, is the lowest at 56.2 percent.
