Changing the Definition of Broadband

A group of Senators recently sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission asking to raise the definition of broadband to 100/100 Mbps. This speed has been discussed for several years as the logical step forward from the current 25/3 Mbps speed set by the FCC in 2015. It’s clear to everyone in the industry that homes are using a lot more broadband than they did in 2015 – with the biggest change being simultaneous uses of multiple broadband streams in the typical home. The change in broadband definition would trigger the following:

• It would make it clear that DSL is an obsolete technology. A higher definition of speed also declares other technologies to be inadequate, like high-orbit satellites from grant funding. This might also be a problem for the low orbit satellite companies.
• It would put cable companies on the hot seat because many cable systems are not capable of 100 Mbps upload speeds. Cable companies that stick to the older DOCSIS 3.0 technology will fail this new FCC speed for uploading. 
• Most of rural America would rightfully be declared to not have broadband. This drastically changes the picture for federal grants
• It also drastically changes the reporting to Congress on the state of US broadband. The 100/100 Mbps definition of broadband would align the FCC with the public perception of what is acceptable broadband.