last mile

American  

noun

1. the distance walked by a condemned person from their cell to the place of execution.

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last mile Cultural  

1. The phrase used to describe one of the problems in attaining higher-speed, higher-capacity information flow to every household. It refers to the copper telephone wire that still carries information to households. The limited capacity of the wire slows data transmission even though it is possible to send data over high-capacity systems from anywhere in the world to within the “the last mile” (give or take) before the house. The use of cable technology, fiber optic technology, and wireless satellite technology are several of the solutions used to address this problem.

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Example Sentences

But the last mile of inflation has proved difficult.

From MarketWatch

If this drift continues, the Fed may find that the last mile of disinflation is not just difficult, but unreachable.

From Barron's

For Amazon, the Amelia smart glasses could augment efficiency in the "last mile" of its delivery network.

From BBC

"Until last mile connectivity is fixed, I don't foresee anyone landing at one airport and travelling to the other to catch another flight," Mr Anand says.

From BBC

Then the boys ran the course— the first mile very slowly, the second mile a little faster, and the last mile not at true race pace, but at a good tempo.

From Los Angeles Times