Maybe Americans don't need fast home Internet service, FCC suggests

["Dave Farber" <farber () gmail com>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
> Date: August 10, 2017 at 3:17:11 AM EDT
> To: Multiple recipients of Dewayne-Net <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
> Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Maybe Americans don't need fast home Internet service, FCC suggests
> Reply-To: dewayne-net () warpspeed com
>
> Maybe Americans don’t need fast home Internet service, FCC suggests
> By saying mobile is good enough, FCC could find that deployment problem is solved.
> By JON BRODKIN
> Aug 9 2017
> <https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/08/maybe-americans-dont-need-fast-home-internet-service-fcc-suggests/>
>
> Americans might not need a fast home Internet connection, the Federal Communications Commission suggests in a new 
> document. Instead, mobile Internet via a smartphone might be all people need.
>
> The suggestion comes in the FCC's annual inquiry into broadband availability. Section 706 of the Telecommunications 
> Act requires the FCC to determine whether broadband (or more formally, "advanced telecommunications capability") is 
> being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion. If the FCC finds that broadband isn't being 
> deployed quickly enough to everyone, it is required by law to "take immediate action to accelerate deployment of such 
> capability by removing barriers to infrastructure investment and by promoting competition in the telecommunications 
> market."
>
> The FCC found during George W. Bush's presidency that fast Internet service was being deployed in a reasonable and 
> timely fashion. But during the Obama administration, the FCC determined repeatedly that broadband isn't reaching 
> Americans fast enough, pointing in particular to lagging deployment in rural areas. These analyses did not consider 
> mobile broadband to be a full replacement for a home (or "fixed") Internet connection via cable, fiber, or some other 
> technology.
>
> Last year, the FCC updated its analysis with a conclusion that Americans need home and mobile access. Because home 
> Internet connections and smartphones have different capabilities and limitations, Americans should have access to 
> both instead of just one or the other, the FCC concluded under then-Chairman Tom Wheeler.
>
> Pai wants change
>
> But with Republican Ajit Pai now in charge, the FCC seems poised to change that policy by declaring that mobile 
> broadband with speeds of 10Mbps downstream and 1Mbps upstream is all one needs. In doing so, the FCC could conclude 
> that broadband is already being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion, and thus the commission 
> could take fewer steps to promote deployment and competition.
>
> This would also be the first time that the FCC has set a broadband speed standard for mobile; at 10Mbps/1Mbps, it 
> would be less than half as fast as the FCC's home broadband speed standard of 25Mbps/3Mbps.
>
> Although the FCC might conclude that mobile broadband can replace a cable or fiber connection, the commission also 
> says consumers can't expect mobile to be as fast. "We anticipate that any speed benchmark we set [for mobile] would 
> be lower than the 25Mbps/3Mbps benchmark adopted for fixed broadband services, given differing capabilities of mobile 
> broadband," the FCC said.
>
> The changes were signaled yesterday in a Notice of Inquiry, the FCC's first step toward completing a new analysis of 
> broadband deployment. The document asks the public for comments on a variety of questions, including whether mobile 
> broadband can substitute for fixed Internet connections. You can file comments at this link; initial comments are due 
> September 7, and reply comments are due September 22.
>
> Is mobile data enough?
>
> This week's Notice of Inquiry says that "advanced telecommunications capability is provided in different 
> circumstances using fixed or mobile service." It also asks:
>
> [snip]
>
> Dewayne-Net RSS Feed: http://dewaynenet.wordpress.com/feed/
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/wa8dzp



-------------------------------------------
Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now
RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/18849915-ae8fa580
Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-aa268125
Unsubscribe Now: 
https://www.listbox.com/unsubscribe/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-32545cb4&post_id=20170810065321:1D7A6A64-7DBA-11E7-A1E0-8903AC17588B
Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com