Free Press: FCC Should Build on Broadband Deployment Measurement Advances

In comments filed at the Federal Communications Commission about measuring the deployment of broadband, Free Press says certain large broadband providers wish to undermine the considerable progress made by the FCC in its efforts to more faithfully implement the directives of Section 706. In doing so, these incumbents not only misinterpret the relevant legislative language, but do so by relying on old, thoroughly refuted evidence to justify their assertion that deployment is reasonable and timely. These efforts are centered on convincing the Commission to lower the newly defined threshold speeds needed to offer consumers advanced telecommunications capability. This lobbying for mediocrity is a transparent attempt to have the Commission include in its Section 706 assessment connections that clearly are not robust enough to offer the capabilities described in the law. Regression to the old standard would thwart both the spirit and letter of the law. In short, providers are keen to go back to a world where the FCC praised their limited deployment efforts and heavily underestimated the bandwidth needed to have advanced telecommunications capability.