Motherboard explores whether the rush to build 1 Gbps connections is helping drive up property values, obviously noting that people would rather live where ultra-fast broadband is -- than where it isn't. As we've noted though, 1 Gbps deployments are generally happening in higher-end developments where the money already exists, so it's a little early to be declaring 1 Gbps connections an economic savior when it's predominately the more affluent locations that are getting them:

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In lots of cases, it's a chicken-and-egg situation: Cities with gigabit internet service are doing well economically (and have the real estate numbers to prove it), but there aren't solid stats to prove causation at the moment.

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Still, nobody doubts that an area's more attractive if it has the kind of broadband competition other areas lack -- and covet. There's also no doubt that home sales are impacted by regional broadband connectivity. Still, just how much broadband can truly impact a regional economy remains something that's been hotly debated and hard to accurately measure.