Hillary Clinton has set an ambitious goal for the future of internet connection: high-speed broadband for every American household by 2020.
Take note that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) just upped the ante by redefining broadband speed from 4 Mbps down/1 Mbps up to 25 Mbps down/3 Mbps up.
A quick glance at the State of the Internet report demonstrates that the United States will have to make significant efforts to get there. The report relies on data gathered via the Akamai Intelligent Platform.
On the bright side, connection speeds go as high as FCC's threshold of 25 Mbps. However, the average broadband speed in all states is well under the FCC's bar. The one place that can reach the average speed in the foreseeable future is the District of Columbia.
The State of the Internet report shows that, in Q1 of 2016, all 50 states (as well as the District of Columbia) had an average connection speed north of 10 Mbps. The figure shows progress, as in Q4 2015 only 49 states were over the 10 Mbps threshold.
Between the last two quarters, increases varied greatly between states. Wisconsin jumped 0.2 percent to 15.3 Mbps, while the District of Columbia surged 13 percent.
The one state that backed away from the objective was Virginia, which lost 1.8 percent. No less than 13 states gained a minimum of at least 30 percent, year-over-year. The states with the lowest average speed are Kentucky, Alaska and Idaho, which rank at about 10.9 Mbps.
The states' strategies to reach the desired broadband speed vary from case to case. Some of them are investing in the infrastructure and services, while others wait for the free market to do all the work by itself.
Alaska aims to give each resident 100 Mbps by 2020.
Kentucky runs the KentuckyWired project, an initiative meant to install more than 3,000 miles of "middle mile" fiber throughout the state.
New York already put $500 million toward hitting the 100 Mbps connectivity mark in a majority of areas, with remote places scheduled to receive 25 Mbps connectivity.
Notable examples are Georgia and Florida, where the interest to bring high-speed broadband seems to be quite low on the authorities' part.
Looking at the private investments, Google is leading the pack. Not only did the company invest heavily in its spearheading deployments, but it also recently purchased Webpass, the high-speed ISP, in an attempt to stay ahead of the competition.
Comcast is shaping up, as the provider promised to deliver gigabit internet services in early 2016 to Nashville and Atlanta. During the second half of the year, other locations from Comcast's list, namely Detroit, Miami and Chicago will receive gigabit internet services.
While Google places its bets on the upcoming Google Fiber infrastructure, Comcast relies on the Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS 3.1) technology. According to Comcast, by implementing DOCSIS 3.1, the existing network will let internet users benefit from broadband speeds.
Clinton's goal is worth aspiring to, but it does pose a great challenge to both the government and private ISPs. Keep in mind that the presumptive Democrat presidential nominee does have the support of the tech industry, so there is a fair chance of her promise coming true.
