The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has blocked two tactics Internet service providers had hoped to use to reduce the expense needed to meet their broadband service obligations …

Broadband definition changes rejected

The FCC requires ISPs to provide broadband service across the areas they serve, which currently means a minimum speed of 25Mbps down and 3Mbps up. ISPs had hoped to see two changes implemented:

  • Reduce the definition of broadband to 10Mbps/1Mbps
  • Count LTE services as broadband if they meet the minimum speed requirement

The combination of the two would have allowed them to claim that they already offer broadband in areas that currently don’t count.

TechCrunch reports that a draft FCC report rejects both proposals.

Rural broadband lagging behind

However, one commissioner took issue with the report’s claim that broadband rollout is on track.

Broadband provision is particularly lacking in rural areas. FCC chairman Ajit Pai recently proposed to make an additional $500M in funding available to accelerate rural broadband development.

Photo: Andrew Harrer, Bloomberg