Forbes has published its annual list of the most broadband-connected U.S. cities.
Their clickable map and list shows Raleigh, NC the most broadband connected.
- Raleigh, NC: Residents say the city’s high concentration of IT companies, research universities and state capital resources have boosted broadband and wi-fi access.
- Atlanta, Ga: High marks in both broadband availability and usage.
- Seattle, Wash: Last year’s top wired city, Seattle, slipped to No. 3 this year, mostly due to a (relative) drop in number of broadband providers and wi-fi hot spots.
- San Francisco, Calif: A stronger showing in access providers and wi-fi hot spots helped the city climb from No. 11 last year.
- Washington, D.C.: The city now supports a network of more than 1,000 hot spots.
- Colorado Springs: The city benefited from a relatively high percentage of broadband use, as measured by Scarborough Research.
- Denver: Also appeared in both 2008 and 2009 lists.
- Baltimore, Md: Made the Most Wired Cities list every year since 2006.
- Orlando, Fla: Tourism and conference magnet boasts top 10 showings in both broadband availability and usage.
- Portland, Ore: The city has scrapped plans to build a municipal wi-fi network, but still abounds in free wi-fi–one factor that pushed it onto their list.
- San Jose, Calif.: This “capital of Silicon Valley” is home to a number of high-tech firms and close to large research universities. It scores particularly high in wi-fi availability and broadband usage, but lower marks in broadband access place it at No. 11.
- Boston: A similar story to San Jose: a research powerhouse with high broadband usage and wi-fi availability, but (relatively) few broadband service providers.
- New Orleans, La.: Tourists, business travelers and college students have made New Orleans a wi-fi hot spot center.
- San Diego: Home to wireless technology giant Qualcomm and hundreds of biotechnology companies has consistently shown up on their list.
- Salt Lake City: A newcomer to the list.
- Charlotte, N.C.: Supports enough broadband service providers to rank in the top five U.S. cities in terms of broadband access.
- Miami: Boasts more broadband service providers, on average, than any city on our list.
- Columbus OH: The Ohio capital is home to the Ohio Supercomputer Center and has made their list all four years.
- Chicago: Isn’t known as a tech hub, but the Windy City is flush in finance, tourism and manufacturing.
- Austin: Huge student population and the annual South by Southwest “interactive festival” have made the city a wi-fi paradise. It also ranks No. 9 in broadband usage.
Topeka, Kansas is renaming itself “Google, Kansas” for the month of March, all in an effort to prove that it was willing to do whatever it takes to get 1Gbps Internet to the nation’s heartland.
The mayor of Duluth, Minnesota recently jumped into freezing Lake Superior wearing no wetsuit (above), in order to get Google’s attention. He arose from the frigid waters shouting: “I’ve laid down the gauntlet! All right, you other mayors! You want Google Fiber, you jump in Lake Superior!”
