Mapping Methodology

We conducted analysis of the raw Ookla® data for the months of February 2020 through August 2021, applying the following filters:

• Include desktop, iOS, and Android app results*
• Exclude results with GPS precision of greater than 200 meters**
• Include only results from fixed broadband providers

*iOS and Android results were included only if the device was connected to wi-fi during the speed test.
** To protect consumer privacy, Ookla® limits location precision to +/-100 meters. As a result, a single location may include multiple households and many individual tests.

Using the Ookla® results we rated each location based on the average of up/down speeds for all tests at that location. We then graded census blocks based on the median up/down speed of all locations within each block. Block-by-block ratings were further refined based on RDOF eligibility, past HUBB deployments, and Form 477 data. For blocks with no Ookla test results, extrapolated ratings were assigned where possible via comparative analysis of population density, Form 477 coverage, HUBB data, and RDOF Phase 1 awards. Areas that could not be assigned an extrapolated rating are shown in gray on the map.

Building a fiber network involves three basic expenses: preparing utility corridors to support fiber optic cables (make-ready), installing fiber along those corridors (cost-to-pass), and connecting individual homes and businesses to the new fiber (cost-to-serve).

* Some industry groups estimate make-ready as low as $5,000-10,000 per mile. Such estimates generally either assume the pole owners will make up the difference or that low-count drop cables are being deployed.
** Assumes high strand-count fiber network using strand-and-lash design.
*** Cost-to-serve not included, assumed as ISP investment.

The following assumptions have been made when estimating costs:

Aerial Installation: The high incidence of surface rock in Appalachia can make buried conduit prohibitively expensive, so costs in this report have been calculated based on attaching overhead fiber to existing electrical poles.

Make-Ready: As part of any broadband deployment, electric utilities must modify or replace at least some of their poles to accommodate increased cable weight, wind and ice loads, and limited clearance between power lines and communications cabling. These costs vary based on electric provider and the kind of cable being installed. A heavier cable may require more make-ready than a lighter one. In this report, we assume a make-ready of $41,000 per mile to accommodate high strand-count cables that require strand-and-lash support. This figure also is approximately what it would cost to build an independent communications pole network as a last resort, should ISPs and local utilities be unable to reach an acceptable agreement.

Underground Alternative: Buried fiber can avoid utility pole attachment fees and associated make-ready, but such savings must be weighed against the total cost of going underground. Costs can vary widely based on burial depth, the presence or absence of other underground infrastructure, the need to bore beneath roads, how much rock is encountered, and whether conduit is used versus direct burial.

Given the prevalence of surface rock in Appalachia, it is estimated that burying fiber in conduit (the preferred approach for long term durability) would cost between $90,000 to $140,000 per mile in total.

Cost-to-Pass: Fiber optic comes in a wide range of styles, from lightweight household drop lines to high capacity cable sheaths that bundle hundreds of fiber strands together to carry massive amounts of data. Household drop fiber is inexpensive and puts less strain on utility poles, but it has limited capacity.

Broadband speeds have increased 10-fold every decade since 1990. To ensure that a fiber network built today remains useful 40 years from now, this report assumes the use of high strand-count cables. While a provider could deliver broadband that meets current state and federal speed requirements using only low strand-count household drop cable, such a network would offer little flexibility to expand services or increase speeds as demand rises.

Material and labor costs for high strand-count fiber are estimated at $40,000 per mile.

Cost-to-Serve: Internet providers typically absorb the cost of running a drop cable from an individual home or business to the nearest utility pole. As such, the cost-to-serve is not included in budget estimates. 

Distance and Total Cost: Last mile broadband infrastructure typically follows existing roads. Total project cost can be estimated by multiplying make-ready and cost-to-pass by the number of state, county, township and unincorporated road miles in unserved census blocks.