Whatever happened to Obama’s goal of universal broadband access?

[Commentary] Does anyone remember when the Obama administration promised to bring “true broadband [to] every community in America”? The Republican Party definitely does, and its 2012 platform criticizes the president for not making any progress on this pledge.

In one sense, the Republican critics are right. Universal broadband is still far from a reality. But there are a few key caveats to add. Back in 2008, the Federal Communications Commission adopted stricter standards for what actually counts as acceptable broadband access—this now requires a connection speed of at least 768 kilobits per second. And last year, the FCC notes, 7.4 million additional Americans gained this level of access. So the infrastructure has been getting better. It’s just that the bar for high-quality Internet access has also gone up. Aside from the stimulus, the Obama administration has taken a number of additional steps on broadband, from trying to reform the Universal Service Fund to unveiling a plan to auction off wireless spectrum owned by the government. Adam Offitzer of Polifact has a helpful rundown of these actions here, and notes that while Obama has delivered on some of his reforms, the country is still far off from “true broadband in every community in America.” So Politifact gives the administration a mixed grade on its full set of broadband promises. Not failed, but not completely fulfilled, either.