The Definition of Broadband

As the Federal Communications Commission reinstates Title II regulation, the definition of broadband defines what is and isn’t directly regulated. In the Order that reinstated Title II regulation, the FCC notes that it continues “to define 'broadband Internet access service' as a mass-market retail service by wire or radio that provides the capability to transmit data to and receive data from all or substantially all Internet endpoints, including any capabilities that are incidental to and enable the operation of the communications service, but excluding dial-up Internet access service.” It’s a short definition, but it raises some interesting regulatory questions. I think that from a practical perspective the FCC’s definition is out of touch of the market when looking at broadband sold to small and medium businesses. The FCC definition assumes that most businesses are buying a mass-market product at a standard range of speeds and prices. That’s not my experience in looking at real business broadband. The same is true for schools and libraries. What is most interesting about the definition of broadband is that anything that doesn’t fit neatly under the definition of broadband is not directly regulated by the FCC.