FCC Wants Broadband Defined
The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) has issued a public notice asking for ‘tailored comment’ developing a national broadband plan. The National Broadband Plan notice of inquiry, according to the FCC public notice, can be defined in a ‘myriad of ways’.
“A static definition will fail to address changing needs and habits”. (Public Notice, FCC)
The FCC is seeking comments on three specific aspects of this issue:
- The general form, characteristics, and performance indicators that should be included in the definition(s) of broadband.
- The maximum and minimum thresholds that should be assigned to these performance indicators today.
- How the definition should be reevaluated over time.
Defining broadband over time includes the process in which it will be defined, the process in updating the definition in accordance with these changes, how frequently updated, additional criteria, and how these modifications will affect the commissions ability to collect and publish meaningful data.
The FCC also plans to issue a public notice to study the competitive nature of the U.S. wireless industry and how it can encourage further innovation and investment.
The first FCC meeting that will include all five commissioners of the new administration, slated for Thursday, will be discussing the state of the wireless industry as well as fees on subscribers monthly bills.
This inquiry indicates the administration wants to determine whether customers can get better services at more affordable prices, opening the competitive door for smaller Internet service providers.
A top issue in defining broadband ‘tends to center on download and upload throughput’. Neither are ‘precise or diverse enough to describe broadband satisfactorily, advertised throughput rates generally differ form actual rates, are not uniformly measured, and have different constraints over different technologies’. (Public Notice, FCC)
If you would like to comment on this issue, the FCC has their blog site at broadband.gov. Through the link above for the public notice you will find all of the details for submitting your comments.
Related posts:
- FCC Redefining Broadband Speeds
- FCC Eliminating Barriers To Broadband
- FCC Poised to Approve White Space Broadband
