The definition of broadband internet may change. Here’s why.

After years of the same old thing, the rules of broadband internet may finally get rewritten. Under the current definition, set by the Federal Communications Commission in 2015, internet service counts as “broadband” if it delivers download speeds of at least 25 megabits per second (or Mbps) and upload speeds of at least 3 Mbps.  Seven years and one worldwide health disaster later, all eyes are on the FCC to see if it will change that definition again. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel proposed raising minimum broadband speeds in the United States to 100 Mbps for downloads and 20 Mbps for uploads in a notice of inquiry shared with her fellow commissioners as part of an annual internet service evaluation. Back when FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler affirmed the 25/3 broadband standard, some internet access advocates already thought those speeds felt out of date, a poor reflection of our deepening need to be online. Those concerns are even more palpable in 2022, now that the glut of content to stream has grown even bigger, and we’ve collected even more gadgetry that requires some kind of lifeline to the web. Rosenworcel’s proposed speeds represent a significant jump over the earlier definition, though according to network research firm Ookla, they still fall short of the national median fixed broadband speeds in the United States. But even that could change in time: The chairwoman’s notice of inquiry also raised the idea of an even higher “national goal of 1 Gbps/500 Mbps for the future.” But floating these notions is one thing; bringing them to life is another.