[ETS/PARC List] Broadband Data Access

[Len Griffin]

I thought this was interesting. This country lags FAR behind the world in
Broadband speeds, and companies are charging us WAY too much for higher
speeds.

I think the FCC is trying to change that. Time will tell.

The Federal Communications Commission has just voted to change the
definition of "broadband", raising the minimum download speed from 4Mbps to
25Mbps and the minimum upload speed from 1Mbps to 3Mbps. 

"We are never satisfied with the status quo. We want better. We continue to
push the limit, and that is notable when it comes to technology," FCC
Commissioner Mignon Clyburn
<http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/29/7932653/fcc-changed-definition-broadband-
25mbps> said. "As consumers adopt and demand more from their platforms and
devices, the need for broadband will increase, requiring robust networks to
be in place in order to keep up. What is crystal clear to me is that the
broadband speeds of yesteryear are woefully inadequate today and beyond."

As you would assume, internet service providers have vehemently opposed the
new rules, as it limits the numbers of services they can pass off as
"broadband" to customers. The National Cable & Telecommunications
Association  <http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=60001015613> claims
that internet customers neither need or want to pay for such speeds, and
that establishing a new benchmark for what constitutes broadband is both
"arbitrary and capricious", considering the fact that the new rule is simply
a definition change.

In other words, the FCC is not forcing ISPs to offer certain speeds. What it
is doing, however, is making sure companies can't call super slow
connections "broadband". 

This reclassification will have some impact beyond marketing, though. In
rural areas, where higher Internet speeds are lacking according to the FCC,
projects are underway to bring better connectivity to more people. To
qualify for federal subsidies, those projects typically need to encompass
broadband Internet, so bringing a 10Mbps download to outlier areas won't cut
it any longer.

This also affects smaller DSL providers, who often have older physical
cables that can't deliver on this faster broadband classification. Larger
entities, like AT&T and Verizon, are also offering DSL connections.

The National Communications and Telecommunications Association isn't as
happy as you might be about this. In a
<https://www.ncta.com/news-and-events/media-room/content/statement-ncta-rega
rding-fcc's-new-broadband-definition-its-section-706-report> statement, they
say the FCC has "arbitrarily chosen a definition of broadband", and failed
to accurately assess the needs of consumers.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler gave a different take. "When 80 percent of
Americans can access 25-3, that's a standard. We have a problem that 20
percent can't. We have a responsibility to that 20 percent" he said.

Again, this doesn't force your Internet provider to offer more, it just ups
the ante for broadband. If you can look to broadband as the 'minimum wage'
of the modern Internet, they we all just got a raise, so to speak.

Source:  <http://www.fcc.gov/> FCC