FCC: You Really Don't Need High-Speed Internet Services

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeks to lower key internet standards: the minimum download and upload speeds for services to qualify as high-speed internet (a/k/a broadband). What the heck you ask? Sadly, this is no joke.

First, some background. Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act requires the FCC to determine whether broadband services are deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely manner. In 2015, the FCC raised the standard after a 2015 report found that that broadband deployment wasn't keeping pace in the United States with its citizens needs nor with the rest of the planet:

"Congress directed us to evaluate annually "whether advanced telecommunications capability is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion." For a service to be considered advanced, it must enable Americans "to originate and receive high-quality voice, data, graphics, and video telecommunications." We can no longer conclude that broadband at speeds of 4 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 1 Mbps upload (4 Mbps/1 Mbps)—a benchmark established in 2010 and relied on in the last three Reports—supports the “advanced” functions Congress identified. Trends in deployment and adoption, the speeds that providers are offering today, and the speeds required to use high-quality video, data, voice, and other broadband applications all point at a new benchmark. The average household has more than 2.5 people, and for family households, the average household size is as high as 4.3... we find that, having “advanced telecommunications capability” requires access to actual download speeds of at least 25 Mbps and actual upload speeds of at least 3 Mbps (25 Mbps/3 Mbps)... Although public- and private-sector initiatives continue to advance deployment, these advances are not occurring broadly enough or quickly enough. Recent data show that approximately 55 million Americans (17 percent) live in areas unserved by fixed 25 Mbps/3 Mbps broadband or higher service, and that gap closed only by three percentage points in the last year... Americans living in rural areas and on Tribal lands disproportionately lack access to broadband. Our data show that 25 Mbps/3 Mbps capability is unavailable to 8 percent of Americans living in urban areas, compared to 53 percent of Americans living in rural areas and 63 percent of Americans living on Tribal lands and in the U.S. Territories. The gap between those with and without access declined by only 2 percent in rural areas..."

Note: the FCC phrase "advanced telecommunications capability" equals broadband. The vote in 2015 by FCC commissioners to raise the standard was 3-2 along party lines. (Democrats held a majority.) Third, the FCC released a Fact Sheet on January 7, 2016 which (again) highlighted the broadband deployment shortfalls:

"While the nation continues to make progress in broadband deployment, advanced telecommunications capability is not being deployed in a reasonable and timely fashion to all Americans. Factors leading to this conclusion are as follows: a) Approximately 34 million Americans still lack access to fixed broadband at the FCC’s benchmark speed of 25 Mbps for downloads, 3 Mbps for uploads; b) A persistent urban-rural digital divide has left 39 percent of the rural population without access to fixed broadband. By comparison, only 4 percent living in urban areas lack access. 10 percent lack access nationwide; c) 41 percent of Tribal Lands residents lack access; d) 41 percent of schools have not met the Commission’s short-term goal of 100 Mbps per 1,000 students/staff. These schools educate 47 percent of the nation’s students... Internationally, the U.S. continues to lag behind a number of other developed nations, ranking 16th out of 34 countries."

16th place is not American excellence. Not even close. We can and should do much better. The Fact Sheet also concluded that everyone needs both fixed and mobile internet access:

"Fixed and mobile service offer distinct functions meeting both complementary and distinct needs: a) Fixed broadband offers high -speed, high-capacity connections capable of supporting bandwidth-intensive uses, such as streaming video, by multiple users in a household; b) But fixed broadband can’t provide consumers with the mobile Internet access required to support myriad needs outside the home and while working remotely.

Mobile devices provide access to the web while on the go, and are especially useful for real-time two-way interactions, mapping applications, and social media. But consumers who rely solely on mobile broadband tend to perform a more limited range of tasks and are significantly more likely to incur additional usage fees or forgo use of the Internet."

We all need fast, wired internet at home, at work, and in school. We all need fast, wireless internet when traveling on business, vacation, or working away from the office or school. Sensible.

On Thursday, Jessica Rosenworcel, one of the commissioners at the FCC, posted on Twitter:

#FCC proposing to lower US #broadband standard from 25 to 10 Mbps. This is crazy. Lowering standards doesn't solve our broadband problems.

— Jessica Rosenworcel (@JRosenworcel) September 20, 2017

What gives? Last month, the FCC filed a Notice of Inquiry (a/k/a "Inquiry Concerning Deployment of Advanced Telecommunications Capability to All Americans in a Reasonable and Timely Fashion" - document #17-109A1) which attempts to consolidate the fixed and mobile broadband speeds into a single standard:

"...We propose to incorporate both fixed and mobile advanced telecommunications services into our Section 706 inquiry... According to the Pew Research Center, the percentage of Americans subscribing to fixed broadband has reached an all-time high of approximately 73 percent. At the same time, 13 percent of Americans across all demographic groups are relying solely on smartphones for home internet access. Given that Americans use both fixed and mobile broadband technologies, we seek comment on whether we should evaluate the deployment of fixed and mobile broadband as separate and distinct ways to achieve advanced telecommunications capability... Alternatively, we seek comment on whether we should evaluate the deployment based on the presence of both fixed and mobile services... We seek comment on the appropriate benchmark for fixed advanced telecommunications capability. Should we maintain the 25 Mbps download, 3 Mbps upload (25 Mbps/3 Mbps) speed benchmark, and to apply it to all forms of fixed broadband?... The [FCC] has not previously set a mobile speed benchmark... Should the Commission set a mobile speed benchmark, and if so, what it should be? We anticipate that any speed benchmark we set would be lower than the 25 Mbps/3 Mbps benchmark adopted for fixed broadband services, given differing capabilities of mobile broadband... We seek comment on whether a mobile speed benchmark of 10 Mbps/1 Mbps is appropriate for mobile broadband services. Would a download speed benchmark higher or lower than 10 Mbps be appropriate for the purpose of assessing American consumers’ access to advanced telecommunications capability?"

A subsequent FCC document extended the comment period. The first deadline for the public -- you -- to submit comments ended Thursday, September 21, 2017. The next deadline for comments is October 6, 2017. You can still submit comments to the FCC until October 6 during the reply comment period (Filing 17-199).

To recap the decision: the FCC could use two different standards (one for fixed internet and a second for wireless internet), or go with a lower, lower standard which (supposedly) accommodates both.

Some readers are probably wondering: a lower broadband standard seems like taking the country backwards. During both the 2016 campaign and after entering office, President Trump promised to improve the country's crumbling infrastructure. Faster internet seems to be a pretty damn important part of the country's infrastructure. And, President Trump appointed Ajit Pai as the new Chairman at the FCC, which gave Republicans a majority of the voting commissioners.

Ars Technica reported:

"Democratic Commissioner Mignon Clyburn objected to parts of the Notice of Inquiry when it was released, saying that the home broadband speed standard should be raised and that mobile should not be considered a substitute for home Internet... Rosenworcel didn't make an official statement when the Notice of Inquiry was released because she wasn't on the commission at that time; she was sworn in for a new term just days later. She previously served on the FCC before a temporary departure caused by political haggling in the Senate."

Rosenworcel released a statement:

"... It’s time to dream big. This is the country that put a man on the moon. We invented the Internet. We can do audacious things — if we set big goals. So I believe we need big broadband goals... I am glad that last year we upped the ante and changed that threshold to 25 Megabits. I support the continued use of this standard today. But I think we need to go big and be bold. I think our new threshold should be 100 Megabits — and Gigabit speed should be in our sights. I believe anything short of goals like this shortchanges our children, our future, and our digital economy."

I agree with Rosenworcel. Moreover, the Pai-led FCC seems intent upon doing what corporate broadband services demand: roll back privacy, roll back net neutrality, and next a lower broadband standards. In 2015, Pai (then a commissioner) opposed the increase in standards.

The skeptic in me worries that a lower, slower standard allows corporate broadband providers to rely solely upon wireless to serve consumers and businesses -- especially those in rural areas. A single, lower standard allows broadband providers to take the foot off the gas pedal of building out the fixed broadband infrastructure -- the fiber-optic and other cabling we all use and need. In this scenario, consumers (yet again) take it on the chin with slower wireless speeds compared to a built-out fixed broadband infrastructure.

Those supporting a single, lower, slower broadband standard might as well yell: "We are number 16. Yeah!" What do you think?