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I live a few miles outside of Loudoun County, still in DC metro, and I have NO terrestrial internet access beyond dialup. It is quite possible that large secti

I live a few miles outside of Loudoun County, still in DC metro, and I have NO terrestrial internet access beyond dialup. It is quite possible that large sections of Loudoun don't have real broadband, just DSL. The county doesn't even have 100% cell phone coverage. There's Dulles/Leesburg, and everywhere else.

Shivetya 9y ago
most people don't realize how dismal even cellular coverage is in many parts of the country. they worry about broad band yet we cannot even guarantee you have coverage with any mobile device. worse people fight against it too
stordoff 9y ago
Why is DSL not "real broadband"?
- beardicus 9y ago
  Because the current US govt definition of "broadband" is a minimum of 25mbps down, and most DSL can't achieve those speeds.
  - mynameisvlad 9y ago
    According to footnote 11, the FCC data set uses 10/1 as the definition of "broadband"
    - maxsilver 9y ago
      That's a recent change, broadband used to be defined as 25mbps, and that definition was recently lowered to 10mbps. But for what it's worth, a lot of US DSL still wouldn't meet broadband definition, even using your lower speed definition. AT&T DSL (the non-FTTN version) in Michigan maxes out around 6mbps down for most people.
- PaulHoule 9y ago
  I have two DSL lines, one 1 Mbps, the other 2 Mbps thanks to a patented range extender is no longer manufactured because the patent holder got acquired.
rayiner 9y ago
Where is a few miles outside of Loudon? Clarke County? That’s closer to WV than DC. And incredibly sparsely populated. Clarke is 85 people per square mile and Fauquier is 105. Fairfax County is 2,800. Parts of Loudoun are very sparsely populated; indeed, it has the most unpaved roads of any county in VA. But since 1980, the population has grown from 60,000 to 385,000. Almost all of that growth has been in Dulles/Leesburg/Ashburn, etc. So in terms of percentage of households who have broadband access, the other parts of the county doesn’t have much of an impact on the overall number.

Shivetya 9y ago

most people don't realize how dismal even cellular coverage is in many parts of the country. they worry about broad band yet we cannot even guarantee you have coverage with any mobile device. worse people fight against it too

stordoff 9y ago

Why is DSL not "real broadband"?

beardicus 9y ago
Because the current US govt definition of "broadband" is a minimum of 25mbps down, and most DSL can't achieve those speeds.
- mynameisvlad 9y ago
  According to footnote 11, the FCC data set uses 10/1 as the definition of "broadband"
  - maxsilver 9y ago
    That's a recent change, broadband used to be defined as 25mbps, and that definition was recently lowered to 10mbps. But for what it's worth, a lot of US DSL still wouldn't meet broadband definition, even using your lower speed definition. AT&T DSL (the non-FTTN version) in Michigan maxes out around 6mbps down for most people.
PaulHoule 9y ago
I have two DSL lines, one 1 Mbps, the other 2 Mbps thanks to a patented range extender is no longer manufactured because the patent holder got acquired.

rayiner 9y ago

Where is a few miles outside of Loudon? Clarke County? That’s closer to WV than DC. And incredibly sparsely populated. Clarke is 85 people per square mile and Fauquier is 105. Fairfax County is 2,800. Parts of Loudoun are very sparsely populated; indeed, it has the most unpaved roads of any county in VA. But since 1980, the population has grown from 60,000 to 385,000. Almost all of that growth has been in Dulles/Leesburg/Ashburn, etc. So in terms of percentage of households who have broadband access, the other parts of the county doesn’t have much of an impact on the overall number.