Need for speed: Fiber and student achievement.

This paper studies the impact of the introduction of fiber broadband in North Carolina, through the lens of student achievement. I link granular data on new fiber construction and advertised download speeds with administrative test score data and local labor market data. Exploiting variation in fiber availability at the census block group level, I implement a difference-in-differences design and find modest effects on educational outcomes, roughly equivalent to lowering class sizes by one student. I show fiber increases local employment and search intensity for supplementary educational materials. Last, I show that increased competition from fiber providers drives quality improvements in other available technology. • Fiber broadband availability increases both math and student standardized test scores • Fiber availability applies competitive pressure on other technologies to raise speeds • Fiber availability improves test scores through increased employment • Limited evidence that fiber increases usage of supplementary education materials [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]