FCC Asks If It Should Raise Minimum Broadband Speed Definition In a notice of inquiry issued today, the FCC formally asked whether the agency should increase the minimum standard definition from the current mark of 4 Mbps downstream, 1 Mbps upstream. Reports emerged last month indicating the agency was considering a minimum speed definition of at least 10 Mbps.

ISPs historically lobby against the increases because it makes already somewhat shaky US speed and penetration stats look notably worse -- especially for telcos like CenturyLink, Frontier, Fairpoint or Windstream that predominately offer slower DSL speeds to their subscribers. In today's notice, the FCC said it was also fielding comments on whether wireless is a "functional equivalent" for fixed broadband, and whether it should include usage caps when comparing offerings from different carriers. "As more people adopt faster broadband speeds, we are asking if all consumers, even in the most rural regions, should have greater access to better broadband," FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a "As more people adopt faster broadband speeds, we are asking if all consumers, even in the most rural regions, should have greater access to better broadband," FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a statement







News Jump California Defends Its Net Neutrality Law; AT&T's Traffic Up 20% Despite Data Traffic Actually Being Down; + more news Are The Comcast-Charter X1 Talks Dead In The Water?; AT&T May Offer Phone Plans With Ads For Discounts; + more news Europe's Top Court: Net Neutrality Rules Bar Zero Rating; ViacomCBS To Rebrand CBS All Access As Paramount+; + more news Verizon To Buy Reseller TracFone For $7B; 5G Not The Competitive Threat To Cable Many Thought It Would Be; + more news MS.Wants Records From AT&T On $300M Project; Google Fiber Outages In Austin, Houston, Other Texan Cities; + more news States With The Biggest Decreases In Speed; AT&T Hopes You'll Forget Its Fight Against Accurate Maps; + more news AT&T's CEO Has A Familiar $olution To US Broadband Woes; EarthLink Files Suit Against Charter; + more news 5G Doesn't Live Up To Hype, AT&T's 5G Slower Than Its 4G; Cord-Cutting Now In 37% of Broadband Households; + more news FCC Cited False Broadband Data Despite Warnings; ZTE, Huawei Replacement Cost Is $1.87B, But Only $1B Allocated; + more Cogeco Rejects Altice USA's Atlantic Broadband Bid; AT&T Is Astroturfing The FCC In Support Of Trump Attack; + more news ---------------------- this week last week most discussed

Most recommended from 51 comments



djrobx

Premium Member

join:2000-05-31

Valencia, CA 3 recommendations djrobx Premium Member Caps probably matter more than the speed In today's notice, the FCC said it was also fielding comments on whether wireless is a "functional equivalent" for fixed broadband, and whether it should include usage caps when comparing offerings from different carriers.



1) Meet or exceed my current speed offering in upload / download ("mbps")

2) Be reasonably close (within 30ms) of the previous service's gateway ping time

3) Meet or exceed my current data allotment. A service capped at 10GB is not a proper substitute for unlimited ADSL service.

4) Must not be subject to throttling or "network management" that would not be otherwise exerted on a typical wireline customer. Unlimited wireline should not be substituted with unlimited wireless that throttles down to 128kbps after 10GB.

5) Meet or exceed performance in terms of uptime and peak hour congestion.



For voice service:



1) Must be able to make a data connection for faxes, TiVos, alarms, satellite receivers.

2) Must have clear, garble-free voice communication

3) Must operate in an emergency.



As for increasing the speeds that define "broadband", what difference does it make? To make people who can't get 10mbps feel worse about it? None of the providers seem to be being held to that standard, so I'm not sure what the point is. But sure, increase it to 10/2. As Verizon looks to hang up on users with copper, the cap is a critical point. I really don't care if data is delivered to me by copper, fiber, or wireless as long as it performs well. It must:1) Meet or exceed my current speed offering in upload / download ("mbps")2) Be reasonably close (within 30ms) of the previous service's gateway ping time3) Meet or exceed my current data allotment. A service capped at 10GB is not a proper substitute for unlimited ADSL service.4) Must not be subject to throttling or "network management" that would not be otherwise exerted on a typical wireline customer. Unlimited wireline should not be substituted with unlimited wireless that throttles down to 128kbps after 10GB.5) Meet or exceed performance in terms of uptime and peak hour congestion.For voice service:1) Must be able to make a data connection for faxes, TiVos, alarms, satellite receivers.2) Must have clear, garble-free voice communication3) Must operate in an emergency.As for increasing the speeds that define "broadband", what difference does it make? To make people who can't get 10mbps feel worse about it? None of the providers seem to be being held to that standard, so I'm not sure what the point is. But sure, increase it to 10/2.

Xioden

Premium Member

join:2008-06-10

Monticello, NY 2 recommendations Xioden Premium Member Why bother? They just call it whatever other buzzword they can think of to avoid the classification anyway.



Bumping broadband up to 4Mbps sure didn't stop Verizon from selling their 3Mb/1Mb 'High Speed Internet'! davidhoffman

Premium Member

join:2009-11-19

Warner Robins, GA 2 recommendations davidhoffman Premium Member FCC Asks If It Should Raise Minimum Broadband Speed Definition Yes, it should raise the minimum definition of broadband speed. I was really impressed with the nonsense from Commissioner Michael OReilly:



We should perform an honest and straightforward assessment of whether advanced telecommunications capability is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable

and timely fashion, which does not mean whether each person in every household across America can simultaneously stream video while using Skype during peak hours on weeknights.



Wrong. The ability for each person in every household to stream video while using Skype is a perfect way to judge if we have ubiquitous advanced telecommunications deployed in the USA.



The commenting system for FCC is horrible. Designed by the worst type of bureaucrats. I intend to comment on this issue on the FCC website, but it may take a few weeks to figure out how to do it.