Key takeaways • Additional broadband coverage, adoption, and speed is accretive for incremental growth of U.S. jobs and GDP, making the case for investment. • A 10 percentage-point increase in broadband penetration in 2016 would have resulted in more than 806,000 additional jobs in 2019, or an average annual increase of 269,000 jobs. • More .
Key takeaways
making the case for investment.
A 10 percentage-point increase in broadband penetration in 2016 would have
resulted in more than 806,000 additional jobs in 2019, or an average annual increase of 269,000 jobs.
More than
875,000 additional U.S. jobs and $186 billion more in economic output would have occurred in 2019 had there been a 10 percentage-point increase in broadband access in 2014.
Adding 10 Mbps to average download speeds in 2016 would have
resulted in 139,400 additional jobs in 2019; however, the analysis also indicates diminishing returns with the rate of job growth slowing as speeds continue to increase.
Why this matters
The COVID-19 pandemic forced much of the U.S. population to trade classrooms, offices and conference rooms for at-home screens. Many Americans were left stranded by inadequate or unaffordable access to internet connectivity or mobile devices. This reality has resulted in a pivotal moment for the U.S. economy, with financial