Antitrust Radar
Competition InsightsAR-CI-2026-05 / Focused note

Broadband geographies / dispatch 05

National fixed-broadband HHI rose while three geographic medians fell.

One FCC release provides a useful scale comparison, but the national value and medians of area-level HHIs remain different summary statistics.
Current readout1 up / 3 down
Exact signals
4
same-source scale paths
Entities
4
within declared frames
Public sources
1
linked custody rows
Latest anchor
2024
intervals vary
1 increased 3 decreased

Interpretation boundaryThe state, county, and tract rows are medians of separate area HHIs, not components that average to the national HHI. Reporting geographies are screening units, not presumed legal broadband markets.

Evidence standard

Evidence reading

What the current rows establish.

3 bounded findings / 4 exact signals
  1. 01

    The national connection-share summary moved higher.

    United States moved from HHI 1,195 in Dec 2023 to 1,501 in Dec 2024 (+306 HHI points).

    1 supporting signal
  2. 02

    All three published area medians moved lower.

    Median state moved from HHI 2,994 in Dec 2023 to 2,937 in Dec 2024 (-57 HHI points). Median county moved from HHI 5,356 in Dec 2023 to 4,599 in Dec 2024 (-757 HHI points). Median census tract moved from HHI 5,859 in Dec 2023 to 5,504 in Dec 2024 (-355 HHI points).

    3 supporting signals
  3. 03

    The apparent divergence is a research question, not a contradiction.

    National concentration and the median of local concentration distributions can move differently when provider shares, coverage, entry, technology, or the distribution of area-level values changes. The release does not by itself identify which mechanism dominates.

    4 supporting signals

Exact comparisons

Inspect every prior and latest anchor.

Observed change fieldEach row retains its own unit and scale
  1. Median census tractTract medianDec 20235,859Dec 20245,504-355 HHIDecrease
  2. Median countyCounty medianDec 20235,356Dec 20244,599-757 HHIDecrease
  3. Median stateState medianDec 20232,994Dec 20242,937-57 HHIDecrease
  4. U.S. fixed broadband connectionsNational HHIDec 20231,195Dec 20241,501+306 HHIIncrease

Analysis lab

Open the bounded instruments behind this dispatch.

2 declared routes / 4 signals
  1. 01

    VizBuilder figure

    Four-scale divergence figure

    National, median-state, median-county, and median-tract HHI from 2020 through 2024.The four lines share a source system but represent different summary statistics and geographic scales.
  2. 02

    Source workspace

    Broadband source atlas

    Inspect each published period and scale inside the FCC concentration workspace.The atlas is a screening instrument and does not resolve local market definition.

Evidence ledger

Values, custody, and continuation routes.

Scroll horizontally to inspect all columns.
Broadband scales signal membership table. Values retain their source unit and period basis.
Entity / metricPriorLatestChangeSourceContinue
Median census tractResidential fixed broadband Tract median5,859Dec 20235,504Dec 2024-355 HHIDecreaseFederal Communications Commissionfcc-internet-access-dec-2024
VizBuilder Source system
Median countyResidential fixed broadband County median5,356Dec 20234,599Dec 2024-757 HHIDecreaseFederal Communications Commissionfcc-internet-access-dec-2024
VizBuilder Source system
Median stateResidential fixed broadband State median2,994Dec 20232,937Dec 2024-57 HHIDecreaseFederal Communications Commissionfcc-internet-access-dec-2024
VizBuilder Source system
U.S. fixed broadband connectionsResidential fixed broadband National HHI1,195Dec 20231,501Dec 2024+306 HHIIncreaseFederal Communications Commissionfcc-internet-access-dec-2024
VizBuilder Source system

Research handoff

The dispatch ends where investigation should begin.

Which provider connection shares and full area-level distributions explain why the national HHI and state, county, and tract medians moved differently?
  1. Median census tractWhich areas and provider-share changes account for movement in the tract median, and how wide is the distribution hidden by the median?
  2. Median countyWhich areas and provider-share changes account for movement in the county median, and how wide is the distribution hidden by the median?
  3. Median stateWhich areas and provider-share changes account for movement in the state median, and how wide is the distribution hidden by the median?
  4. U.S. fixed broadband connectionsWhat provider-share, technology, speed-tier, entry, and geographic composition changes explain the rise in national HHI while median subnational HHIs declined?

Source custody

Public records behind this dispatch.

1 source
  1. 01
    Internet Access Services: Status as of December 31 2024Federal Communications Commission / accessed July 21, 2026
    Source dossier

Publication record

Cite this dispatch as a versioned research object.

current edition
Competition InsightsAR-CI-2026-05Version 1.0
Author
Antitrust Radar Research Team
Published
Updated
Sources checked
Antitrust Radar Research Team. (2026, August 12). National fixed-broadband HHI rose while three geographic medians fell.. Competition Insights, AR-CI-2026-05 (Version 1.0). Antitrust Radar. https://antitrustradar.org/insights/fixed-broadband-scale-divergence-2024
BibTeXRIS