As the FCC on Wednesday opened its annual inquiry into whether high-speed internet is being deployed to all Americans fast enough, Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel dissented, asserting that the national minimum of 25 Mbps is too slow.
In her dissenting statement to the FCC’s 14th Broadband Deployment Report Notice of Inquiry, Rosenworcel said it “fundamentally errs” by proposing a continued national standard of 25 Mbps.
“I believe this goal is insufficiently audacious. It is time to be bold and move the national broadband standard from 25 Megabits to 100 Megabits per second.”
Last year’s report used the 25 Mbps threshold and determined that pacing of broadband deployment in the U.S. is both reasonable and timely. Rosenworcel, however, said while the annual report is important she fears that the stage is being set for a repeat of last year, noting there was clear evidence of 24 million Americans still without broadband.
“It [last year’s report] ignored too many people in too many places struggling to access high-speed service and dealing with connectivity that falls short of what is necessary for full participation in the digital age,” Rosenworcel said.
She also said the U.S. “is not even close” to leading the world at this speed, when factoring in price.
“That is not where we should be and if in the future we want to change this we need both a more powerful goal and a plan to reach it,” Rosenworcel said. “Our failure to commit to that course here is disappointing.”
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Filed Under: Industry regulations + certifications
