FCC Chairwoman Proposes Faster US Broadband Standards

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has updated a Notice of Inquiry aimed at raising the broadband standard in the US.

The current US broadband standard is 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload. Unfortunately, that standard was set in 2015 and has not been updated since. As a result, that standard doesn’t account for the vast number of Americans working and learning remotely.

“In today’s world, everyone needs access to affordable, high-speed internet, no exceptions,” said Chairwoman Rosenworcel. “It’s time to connect everyone, everywhere. Anything short of 100% is just not good enough.”

As a result of the changing landscape, Chairwoman Rosenworcel is proposing a significant upgrade to the broadband standard:

In addition to focusing on a universal service standard, the Notice of Inquiry proposes to increase the national fixed broadband standard to 100 megabits per second for download and 20 megabits per second for upload, and discusses a range of evidence supporting this standard, including the requirements for new networks funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The FCC previously set the broadband standard at 25/3 Mbps in 2015 and has not updated it since. The Notice of Inquiry proposes to set a separate national goal of 1 Gbps/500 Mbps for the future.

If the FCC votes in favor of the proposal, it could help the US make significant progress closing the digital divide, and perhaps move into the top five, in terms of countries with the fastest internet service.