Digital Connectivity Index

ISP reports creates a Digital Connectivity Index for every city, county, zip code, and state in the United States using data collected by the US Census Bureau. These relevant indicators allow us to assess every location for the level of demand there is for a robust and well-built internet infrastructure. The following components are evaluated:

Average Household Size

Household size according to US Census Bureau. Larger households are a major indicator in how much bandwidth is needed. More users means not only more devices in the household but also a higher likelihood of simultaneous usage and network congestion.

Work From Home Percent

Defined by the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey as persons who worked from home as the majority of their commute. This could mean anywhere from completely work from home, to 3 out of 5 days working from home. A higher percent of work from home indicates that there is a higher need for connectivity in a residential area due to the demands required from these types of jobs.

Households with Devices

This percent indicates how many households have any sort of computing device in their homes. These devices include desktops, laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc. Communities with relatively low percentages would indicate that the community is not as digitally native as other parts of the country.

Households with Internet

This indicates the percent of households who have internet in their homes. This includes dial-up, broadband (which is defined by speed as you can see below), satellite, and mobile connections.

Households with Broadband

This is defined by the percent of households that have a connection with speeds of 25 Mbps or greater. It does not discern between technology types so could include fiber, cable, dsl, or mobile as long as the speed definition is reached.

Broadband Usage vs. Availability

Of those households that have a broadband connection (25 Mbps+) available to their door, how many actually subscribe to it? This can be a somewhat counterintuitive metric because you will find lower percentages in very well developed locations. In our minds it is never a negative to have a strong internet infrastructure but this could be an indicator that a location isn't developing alongside the needs of the community. You can evaluate locations in this manner by comparing their ISP Report Card and their Digital Connectivity Index side by side.