Over 97 percent of Kentucky students now have access to 1 Mbps per student internet speeds, according to a recent report, which detailed findings on the nation’s progress toward meeting the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) bandwidth goal of 1 Mbps per student.

The report, titled the 2023 Report on School Connectivity, was released by Connected Nation’s Connect K-12 Program in collaboration with Funds For Learning, a firm that specializes in the federal E-rate funding program.

Connected Nation, a nonprofit with a stated mission of providing innovative solutions that expand access to and increase the adoption and use of broadband, has made their school connectivity report an annual event. This year’s report, released in Nov., reported that 74 percent of school districts across the country are now providing internet access “at speeds that are sufficient to support digital learning in their classrooms every day.”

That number, 74 percent, represents over 9,500 school districts and 27.1 million students, according to a summary of the reported provided to Broadband Communities by Connected Nation, which said 3,330 of the nation’s 12,911 school districts are not yet meeting the goal.

Over 5 million students gained new access to FCC-benchmark internet speeds between 2022 and 2023, according to the report.

Among states meeting the FCC’s school connectivity benchmarks, Kentucky saw the biggest leap from 2022 to 2023 and jumped from being ranked 49 to fifth among states with leading school connectivity, a summary of the report said.

In 2023, 97 percent of districts in Kentucky now report having access to acceptable internet speeds, the summary stated.

In total, only nine states met the FCC’s school connectivity benchmark goals in 2022. That number increased to 16 in 2023, according to Connected Nation.

Vice President of Education Initiatives Emily Jordan, with Connected Nation, said districts meeting the 1 Mbps per student goal are getting access at a much lower rate than districts not meeting the FCC’s benchmark. Her comments were included in a release from Connected Nation spotlighting key findings in the report.

“The cost is substantially higher for those school districts not meeting that level of connectivity,” Jordan said.

Jordan referred to data released by Connected Nation, which revealed the national median cost per megabit for districts meeting or exceeding the goal is 85 cents. Conversely, districts not meeting the FCC’s goal are paying a median price of $1.55 per megabit, according to Connected Nation.

“This demonstrates that the FCC’s goal is not just attainable, it actually benefits school districts in several ways,” said Jordan. “Students and teachers are getting the connectivity they need in every classroom, every day, and the districts are potentially saving money.”

The full report is available to the public on ConnectK12.org, the Connect K-12 Program’s website.