FCC chair proposes new US broadband standard of 100Mbps down, 20Mbps up

The FCC wants to increase the agency's broadband speed standard from 25 megabits per second to 100 megabits per second on the download side and from 3 megabit per second to 20 megabit per second on the uploads side.

The notice of inquiry proposes to increase the national broadband standard to 100 megabits per second for download and 20 megabits per second for uploading and discusses a range of evidence supporting this standard. A separate national goal of 1Gbps/500Mbps is being proposed.

Tom Wheeler was the Chairman when the 25/3Mbps metric was adopted in January of 2015. In January 2021, Pai decided that 25Mbps download and 3Mbps uploads were still fast enough for home internet users.

The FCC's 25/3 speed metric was surpassed by the needs of internet users, especially during a global health pandemic that moved so much of life online, according to the announcement. The 25/3 metric hides the extent to which low-income neighborhoods and rural communities are being left behind.

FCC deadlock prevents aggressive action

The Notice of Inquiry was brought to the attention of the other Commissioners. The proposal requires a vote and the commission is deadlocked with two Democrats and two Republicans.

The FCC is required to determine annually whether "advanced telecommunications capability is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion" and to take immediate action to accelerate deployment if current deployment is not "reasonable and timely." Pai was able to give the telecom industry and FCC passing grades in the annual reports because of the 25/3Mbps standard.

The commission's deployment analysis should be expanded to include prices and adoption. The FCC announcement said that the commission should consider affordability, adoption, availability, and equitable access as part of its determination as to whether broadband is being deployed in a timely fashion.

It's more likely that broadband isn't being deployed in a timely manner if the FCC raises the speed standard. Unless a third Democrat is confirmed to the FCC, the practical outcomes of the speed standard change could be limited.