Many of you probably have fiber internet, with speeds of at least 100Mbps. While high-speed Internet is becoming more and more common, household with really slow Internet are still out there, making do with whatever they have. The good part? While the FCC kept considering these really slow connections as “still broadband,” that definition is changing now.
The Federal Communications Commission, or FCC for short, has revamped its definition of “broadband” to reflect the growing demands of the digital age. Previously set at 25Mbps download and 3Mbps upload since 2015, the new standard requires significantly faster speeds: 100Mbps download and 20Mbps upload. This change reflects concerns raised by FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel years ago, arguing that the previous definition hindered advancements in education, the economy, and future technological possibilities. Then, she added that “I think our new threshold, frankly, should be 100Mbps. I think anything short of that shortchanges our children, our future, and our new digital economy.”
Why is this important, you might ask? This doesn’t stop Internet providers from rolling out ultra-slow internet, so if you have that, it’s not going to get better all of a sudden. That’s probably something that you’ll need to address with your Internet provider, if you haven’t done so already. It will, however, change the definition of the FCC of what is, and what is not, broadband, so it can fund and regulate providers accordingly. Internet providers have been able to get away with a lot, and hopefully, this will put some pressure on them to actually provide decent speeds.
However, the challenge of achieving nationwide access remains. The FCC reports that nearly 28% of Americans in rural areas currently lack access to wired internet that meets even the previous, lower standard. To reach these people, there are initiatives such 5G home internet service by T-Mobile or Verizon, which leverages 5G networks for home internet. Still, that work needs to be done. Additionally, factors like pricing and latency (signal delay) go beyond just download/upload speeds. This is still, however, a big win, and hopefully, it will result on faster speeds down the road.
Source: The Verge
