The Federal Communications Commission is suggesting raising the national fixed broadband speed benchmark to 100/20 Megabits per second (Mbps) from its current definition of 25/3 Mbps. Some fiber providers asked for the FCC to propose even higher speeds, at 100/100 Mbps, but a cohort of industry groups have objected to that symmetrical tier being a fair requirement in today's landscape. Those who responded to the FCC’s ask for comment on the proposal have overwhelmingly supported the benchmark increase, as most would agree that 25/3 Mbps is a slow and outdated speed threshold. But fiber providers like Google Fiber, ALLO and Ting advocated that upload speeds are just as essential as download speeds, with new realities like work from home and the demands of video conferencing and telehealth. “An asymmetrical standard implies that entertainment use cases for the internet are more important than productivity uses that consistently require more upload bandwidth,” they wrote. Meanwhile, in its comment to the FCC, the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) said future benchmarks like 100/100 Mbps “can only be established in the future, when they become relevant based on marketplace forces and technological advancement.”

The Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) asserts that connectivity has become integral to everyday activities from regular social interactions and access to media to participating in school or pursuing a career, responding to emergencies, improving farming efficiency and agricultural output, and combatting climate change. VCBB  released its draft Digital Equity Plan to ensure all Vermonters can take advantage of the benefits of this connectivity. The VCBB draft plan is open for public comment until December 31, 2023.

Through its superior technical characteristics compared to previous generations of mobile technologies, 5G supports the development of innovative services and products across the whole economy. As a consequence, the potential impact of 5G is frequently described as being significant, with estimates of $1 trillion or more being added to global GDP by the end of the decade being common. For mobile operators, 5G provides an opportunity to generate new sources of revenue. This would boost their revenues, and thus their market capitalisations which have fallen in recent years as value has migrated to other parts of the digital economy. In this paper we argue that mobile operators face a number of inter-woven challenges that will shape their ability to utilise 5G to generate new sources of revenues.

Fiber network deployments in the US, while hitting a bit of a slowdown, are proceeding apace and will ramp up significantly as grants start to roll out from the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program in 2025. But for BEAD to succeed, experts say states and service providers need to make workforce development a priority in early 2024. Research released by the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) this year estimates that up to 205,000 fiber optic technicians will be needed over the next five years, in addition to thousands of additional engineers and construction workers. Deborah Kish, vice president of research and workforce development at the FBA, said "Workforce development in the broadband industry is in dire straits and change needs to happen now; we have a lot of catching up to do."