DEFINITIONS, OPERATIONALIZATIONS, AND ASSUMPTIONS Broadband “Broadband [...] refers to a high-speed connection to the Internet that is always available. [...] Any of the multiple technologies that deliver digital telecommunications to end users—including digital subscriber lines (DSL), cable, fiber, or satellite—can qualify as broadband.” (Tomer et. al., 2017) For the purpose of our study, we are focused on examining residential broadband connections.
Accessibility For the purpose of this study, we define accessibility as a measure of availability and quality.
Availability: Number of Providers Availability is defined as the number of broadband Internet providers per block group. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) collects detailed data on broadband Internet access including the name of unique providers and download speeds. Broadband providers “are required to file data with the FCC twice a year (Form 477).” For the purpose of this research we used Fixed Broadband Deployment Data from December 2019. The FCC data provides block level information. Acknowledging that all other indicators being used for the purpose of our research is aggregated at the block group level, we counted the number of unique providers per block group to create a statewide map, showing the number of providers per block group.
Quality: Internet Speed Quality is defined as the average broadband download speed. “Speed is the single most important metric of interest in characterizing the ‘quality’ of broadband service.” (Bauer et. al., 2010:1) 6
To analyze the quality of Internet connection, we first downloaded the Speedtest by Ookla Global Fixed and Mobile Network Performance Maps. The dataset contains information regarding the average download speed, upload speed, and latency of Internet connections, and reflects the speedtest results from January 1, 2020 to April 1, 2020. For the purposes of our research we selected average download speeds as our main measure of Internet quality. The Ookla Speedtest is not without its limitations. The dataset only provides information where Internet subscribers have requested a speedtest. As such, data is unavailable for unpopulated areas or locations in which a speedtest was not requested. This explains the number of “blind spots” on the map.
A Note on Cost While we recognize that cost is another important measure of accessibility when it comes to overall accessibility, compiling the necessary data to evaluate such a measure was not possible given the time and scope of our semester-long research.
Site Selection Based on Beynon et al. (2015), we understand that the urban/rural divide carries profound conceptual and methodological meaning to GIS-based measures and analyses, as well as to policy making. While the concept of the rural carries a conceptual importance to our site selection, we did not consider it as an analytical construct and, therefore, we did not apply indices to determine a degree of difference between our two sites and metropolitan areas such as Rochester, Buffalo, or New York City. Instead, we observed the notable differences in population density in order to categorize Livingston and Ontario as predominantly rural areas.
