In its recently-published updated report on the availability of wired - or non-mobile - broadband in the US, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has revealed that, even though there has been an improvement in the expansion of broadband coverage countrywide, the overall broadband coverage still falls short of expectations.

The report - which is part of the FCC's currently-underway attempts to survey and promote broadband adoption in the US - clearly details the areas which still have no access to wired broadband, and also underscores the reasons which prevent people from subscribing to broadband.

Going by the mapped details provided by the Commission, lack of wired broadband access is predominantly a rural problem. With over 40,000 Bay Area residents lacking non-mobile broadband Internet access, the FCC map clearly shows, for instance, that Point Reyes and Tomales Bay are the key areas in Marin which lack access to wired broadband, as do the areas clustered in the eastern hills in Santa Clara County.

Specifically speaking, the FCC report has revealed that 19 million people in the US lacking non-mobile broadband access, with as many as 14 million of them residing in rural areas. So far as California is concerned, 1.2 million people lack broadband access, out of which 664,000 live in rural areas.

Noting that the report "reflects the huge strides that both the private and public sector have made to extend broadband," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said that it also highlights the fact that "there's more work to do."