FCC Finds High-Speed 5G Available to Just 12.9% of St. John, 56.9% Territory-Wide

High-speed 5G service meeting a federal benchmark is available to just 56.9 percent of the U.S. Virgin Islands population and only 12.9 percent on St. John, according to a newly released Federal Communications Commission report that shows a sharp contrast between the territory's mobile and fixed broadband networks. The FCC's 2026 Section 706 Report, adopted Aug. 13 and released the following day, places 5G availability at the agency's benchmark of at least 35 megabits per second for downloads and 3 Mbps for uploads at 53 percent on St. Croix, 64.7 percent on St. Thomas and 12.9 percent on St. John. Puerto Rico fares considerably better under the same measurement. The FCC reports 97.1 percent availability there, compared with 56.9 percent territory-wide in the USVI. The picture changes dramatically for fixed internet service. At speeds of at least 100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up, fixed terrestrial broadband is listed as available to 99.8 percent of the evaluated USVI population. The fi...