summary: The Federal Communications Commission faces increasing public pressure to revise its definition of high-speed broadband internet, a need that has become clearer as the pandemic increases society’s reliance on home internet. Became. But the FCC’s ambitions extend beyond current progress. Its long-term goal is to accelerate the adoption of gigabit internet.
The FCC this week set new minimum standards for evaluating whether Americans have access to high-speed broadband internet. The updates to download speeds of 100 Mbps and upload speeds of 20 Mbps represent a significant departure from the previous standard of 25/3 Mbps set by the European Commission in 2015. The new rules will allow the FCC to more rigorously evaluate the performance of Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecommunications companies.
The decision, made by a 3-2 vote, means many Americans, especially those living in rural and tribal areas, do not have access to fast enough internet and service providers are not able to expand their networks fast enough. It was made clear that there was no.
According to the FCC report (now sourced from Broadband Data Collection rather than Form 477), approximately 24 million Americans lacked broadband access as of December 2022. This figure includes 28 percent of rural Americans and 23 percent of individuals in tribal areas, excluding satellite services.
Additionally, 36% of rural residents and 20% of tribal land residents, who make up 9% of the US population, did not have access to mobile 5G services with minimum speeds of 35/3Mbps. A total of 45 million Americans lacked access to both standards.
The decision follows a bipartisan request from senators three years ago asking the FCC to raise the benchmark to 100Mbps for both uploads and downloads. The pandemic has forced many people to work and learn from home, highlighting the critical importance of high-speed internet access and sharpening the digital divide.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel commented on the impact of the pandemic in a statement regarding the new policy. “The pandemic has brought into sharp relief our digital divide,” she said. In addition, commissioners Jeffrey Starks and Anna M. ‘s Connectivity Program’.
Conversely, dissenting opinions from Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Symington highlighted the progress the telecommunications industry has made independent of the new regulations and questioned the FCC’s revised methodology. “By any standard, the availability of high-speed broadband has come a long way,” Kerr said.
Looking to the future, the Commission encourages ISPs to strive for broader access to Internet speeds of 1 Gbps for downloads and 500 Mbps for uploads. As of December 2022, 26 percent of school districts have not achieved this standard.
