National Neighborhood Data Archive (NaNDA): Broadband Internet Availability, Speed, and Adoption by Census Tract and ZIP Code Tabulation Area, United States, 2014-2020 (ICPSR 38567)
Version Date: Nov 14, 2022 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Mao Li, University of Michigan. Institute for Social Research;
Iris Gomez-Lopez, University of Michigan. Institute for Social Research;
Anam Khan, University of Michigan. Institute for Social Research;
Philippa Clarke, University of Michigan. Institute for Social Research;
Megan Chenoweth, University of Michigan. Institute for Social Research
Series:
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR38567.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
This study contains two data files. Data file one (Broadband Internet Availability, Speed, and Adoption by Census Tract) contains measures of broadband internet availability, speed, and adoption per United States census tract in 2014 through 2020. The data is derived from internet service providers' Form 477 reports to the Federal Communications Commission. Data file two (Broadband Internet Availability and Speed by ZIP Code Tabulation Area) contains measures of broadband internet access and usage per United States ZIP code tabulation area (ZCTA) in 2014 through 2020. The data is derived primarily from internet service providers' Form 477 reports to the Federal Communications Commission.
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Funding View help for Funding
Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms
Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
Smallest Geographic Unit View help for Smallest Geographic Unit
census tract and ZIP code tabulation area (ZCTA)
Distributor(s) View help for Distributor(s)
Time Period(s) View help for Time Period(s)
Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection
Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes
- The data and documentation for data file one (Broadband Internet Availability, Speed, and Adoption by Census Tract - see National Neighborhood Data Archive (NaNDA): Broadband Internet Availability, Speed, and Adoption by Census Tract, United States, 2014-2020) and data file two (Broadband Internet Availability and Speed by ZIP Code Tabulation Area - see National Neighborhood Data Archive (NaNDA): Broadband Internet Availability and Speed by ZIP Code Tabulation Area, United States, 2014-2020) were originally deposited in openICPSR.
- A ZIP code to ZCTA crosswalk must be used to combine this dataset with ZIP code geocoded data. A crosswalk and sample code for merging the crosswalk with National Neighborhood Data Archive (NaNDA) datasets are available in the ICPSR Linkage Library.
- For additional information see the National Neighborhood Data Archive (NaNDA).
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Please consult the accompanying documentation for additional information.
Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
These data bring together measures of broadband accessibility and residential adoption across the United States for the period 2014-2018 (data file Broadband Internet Availability, Speed, and Adoption by Census Tract) and measures of broadband accessibility and speed across the United States for the period 2014-2020 (data file Broadband Internet Availability and Speed by ZIP Code Tabulation Area).
Study Design View help for Study Design
For data file one (Broadband Internet Availability, Speed, and Adoption by Census Tract) Average per-tract download and upload speeds were derived from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) broadband deployment data. Researchers summarized the maximum committed information rates (Max CIR Downstream Speed and Max CIR Upstream Speed) of all providers in all block groups in the tract, then divided by the total number of unique provider IDs in all block groups in the tract. Researchers counted each provider once per block group. In other words, if one provider offers service in ten block groups within a tract, the denominator is ten, not one. Researchers dropped providers with a max CIR upload and/or download speed of zero, which the FCC uses to denote providers who offer broadband on a "best effort" basis instead of specifying a bandwidth.
Researchers then calculated the total number of providers offering fixed high-speed connections in the tract, as well as the number offering residential fixed high-speed connections. "High speed" is defined as having an average download and/or upload speed exceeding 200 kilobits per second (kbps). "Residential" providers are those with consumer=1 in the FCC broadband deployment data. Researchers counted each provider once per tract. If one provider offered service in ten block groups within a tract, they were counted once, not ten times.
Researchers then merged in data on broadband subscribership from the FCC's maps of residential fixed internet access. For each census tract and year, researchers included both connections exceeding 200 kbps upstream or downstream, and connections exceeding ten megabits per second (Mbps) downstream and one Mbps upstream. Data from 2014, 2019, and 2020 were not available. Researchers used data from 2015 for 2014, but left 2019 and 2020 missing. Note that the variables provided by the FCC are categorical variables, with a value of 1 representing 1-200 connections, 2 representing 201-400 connections, etc.
Census tracts that were not served by any broadband providers in any year are missing from the data.
For data file two (Broadband Internet Availability and Speed by ZIP Code Tabulation Area) average per-ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) download and upload speeds (avg_download_speed, avg_upload_speed) were derived from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) broadband deployment data. Researchers summarized the maximum committed information rates (Max CIR Downstream Speed and Max CIR Upstream Speed) of all providers in all block groups in the ZCTA, then divided by the total number of unique provider IDs in all block groups in the ZCTA, counting each provider once per block group. In other words, if one provider offers service in ten block groups within a ZCTA, the denominator is ten, not one. Researchers dropped providers with a max CIR upload and/or download speed of zero, which the
Researchers then calculated the total number of providers offering fixed high-speed connections in the ZCTA, as well as the number offering residential fixed high-speed connections. "High speed" is defined as having an average download and/or upload speed exceeding 200 kilobits per second (kbps). "Residential" providers are those with consumer=1 in the FCC broadband deployment data. Researchers counted each provider once per ZCTA. If one provider offers service in ten block groups within a ZCTA, they are counted once, not ten times.
ZCTAs that were not served by any broadband providers in any year from 2014-2020 are missing from the data.
Time Method View help for Time Method
Universe View help for Universe
Census tracts and ZIP code tabulation areas in the United States, US island territories, and possessions.
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Source View help for Data Source
Data file one (Broadband Internet Availability, Speed, and Adoption by Census Tract): Data on broadband connection speed is taken from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'s Broadband Deployment Data reports from December 2014-June 2020 (FCC, 2014, FCC, 2015, FCC, 2016a, FCC, 2017, FCC, 2018a, FCC, 2019a, 2020a). See the FCC's Explanation of Broadband Deployment Data (FCC, 2020b) for a description of the source data fields, how the data are collected, and how the FCC has modified them.
Data file one (Broadband Internet Availability, Speed, and Adoption by Census Tract): Data on the number of residential fixed-speed connections per 1000 households comes from the FCC's maps of residential fixed connections by census tract. Downloadable data were available from 2015 through 2018 (FCC, 2016b, FCC, 2016c, FCC, 2018b, FCC, 2019b, FCC, 2020c).
Data file two (Broadband Internet Availability and Speed by ZIP Code Tabulation Area): Researchers used the 2010 decennial census geographic header files (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010) to map blocks to ZIP code tabulation areas (ZCTA).
Data file one (Broadband Internet Availability, Speed, and Adoption by Census Tract): Data and documentation for National Neighborhood Data Archive (NaNDA): Broadband Internet Availability, Speed, and Adoption by Census Tract, United States, 2014-2020 were originally deposited in openICPSR.
Data file two (Broadband Internet Availability and Speed by ZIP Code Tabulation Area): Data and documentation for National Neighborhood Data Archive (NaNDA): Broadband Internet Availability and Speed by ZIP Code Tabulation Area, United States, 2014-2020 were originally deposited in openICPSR.
Data file two (Broadband Internet Availability and Speed by ZIP Code Tabulation Area): Data on broadband connection speed is taken from the FCC's Broadband Deployment Data reports from December 2014-June 2020 (FCC 2014-2020a). See the FCC's Explanation of Broadband Deployment Data (FCC, 2020b) for a description of the source data fields, how the data are collected, and how the FCC has modified them.
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
HideOriginal Release Date View help for Original Release Date
2022-11-14
Version History View help for Version History
2022-11-14 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
- Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
Notes
The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.