NCTA: FCC is Lowballing Broadband Deployment

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The Federal Communications Commission is failing to, in a reasonable and timely manner, account for the extent to which unserved areas are getting broadband. That was a key takeaway from NCTA-The Internet & Television Association's comments to the FCC on whether advanced telecommunications is being provided in a reasonable and timely manner, as Congress has directed it to ensure. If the FCC concludes that advanced telecom is not being deployed in a reasonable and timely fashion, it allows the FCC to regulate to make that happen.

NCTA says that undercounting is because of the "significant lag time" between data collection and release, and the "resulting understatement" of deployment levels. For example, the FCC recently released data from June 2017, it points out, while providers have already reported data as of June 2018. Then there is the issue of areas the FCC still views as unserved but where it has already allotted federal funding. The trade group also said the FCC should retain its 25 Mbps downstream/3 Mbps upstream benchmark for advanced telecommunications, but not rule out lower speeds, which can provide "important" capabilities including doing homework, applying for jobs and streaming video. The lower the acceptable speed, the higher the deployment figure. NCTA also put in a plug for including mobile broadband availability in making the determination.


NCTA: FCC is Lowballing Broadband Deployment