Santa Clarita is among the top-10 cities in Los Angeles County with the slowest internet speeds, a recent study reported.
SatelliteInternet.com, a company that researches and helps people find satellite internet plans in their area, analyzed more than 37,000 speed tests from cities across the county and ranked them from fastest to slowest with a baseline of at least 100 tests per city.
“With the COVID-19 outbreak leading more people to work, study and stay entertained at home, the team at SatelliteInternet.com wanted to get a better idea of how the digital divide is affecting Los Angeles County, one of the most populated and connected counties in the country, during this unprecedented time,” read the report.
The report ranked Santa Clarita in the No. 9 spot for the slowest speeds with 56.0 megabytes per second, or Mbps, falling in the lower half of the average range countywide between 40.7, which was labeled for Paramount, and 83.6 Mbps for Glendora. The fastest speeds in the nation run up to 1,000 Mbps, and 25 Mbps was considered the slowest.
The methodology showed that the average speeds meant slower areas should have connections capable of supporting basic use from at least one device, such as for web browsing, email and other activities. Streaming HD on every screen, for example, would not be included.
For northern Los Angeles County, thousands of residents do not have access to fiber or cable internet speeds, meaning that satellite internet is sometimes the fastest option, according to the report.
Santa Clarita officials said Tuesday they’re expecting to soon share updated data about the city’s connectivity, following the city’s move to deploy 5G network service in the area and its approval a year ago to lease two dark fiber strands from its network to downtown Los Angeles. The extension provides the city access to a myriad amount of internet service providers.
“The city of Santa Clarita continues to work on strategies and explore new opportunities to increase access to high-speed internet at affordable prices, especially for the business community. Earlier this year, the city made a crucial connection to the One Wilshire Data Center in Downtown Los Angeles and is identifying ways to leverage this new connection to the benefit of community stakeholders,” Benny Ives, information technology manager with the city, said Tuesday in a prepared statement.
