(Editor’s note: The Broadband Report is a regular feature in WRAL TechWire. Today’s story is courtesy of Anne Neville, director of state broadband initiatives at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The original post can be found the NTIA website.)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Access to high-speed internet has become a necessity for communities and businesses, and the latest data from the National Broadband Map shows that broadband continues to be available to more Americans than ever.

Broadband drives economic growth and innovation – including advances in health care, education, and public safety. Since its launch in 2011, the National Broadband Map has been helping businesses as well as consumers access broadband by detailing where and what types of high-speed Internet services are available in their communities.

Considering wireline and wireless technologies together, the slowest broadband speeds are nearly ubiquitously available, and access to very fast broadband (more than 100 Mbps) has now reached two-thirds of Americans.

The data, as of Dec. 31, 2013, shows that 99 percent of Americans have access to wired and/or wireless broadband at advertised speeds of 6 Mbps downstream and 1.5 Mbps up, though this number drops to 89 percent when considering wireline broadband alone.

After a huge jump between December 2010 and December 2011, the data continues to show a steady increase – primarily attributable to an upgrade in existing cable systems – in the number of communities and businesses that now can access broadband with speeds of at least 100 Mbps.

Check out the data yourself on the National Broadband Map, where you can analyze data, look at differences in rural and urban availability and see the differences by technology and speed.

All historical data is also available on NTIA’s website or via API.