Sens Ask USDA to Boost Broadband Speed Benchmark

A bipartisan group of Sens has asked the US Department of Agriculture to update the broadband speed definitions of its Community Connect grant program, which, like the Federal Communications Commission's Universal Service Program, provides subsidies to build out broadband in areas where there isn't a business case, in this case focused on rural areas. They want the definition for high speed to be upped to 10 Mbps. The USDA recently upped the speeds for the Broadband Access Loan Program to 10 Mbps, but Community Connect was only increased to 4 Mbps. The Sens signaled that did not cut it.

“Federal policymakers must ensure that taxpayer-supported infrastructure is sufficiently robust to handle demand. It is not only a matter of fairness that rural Americans can fully utilize broadband-enabled resources," they wrote, "but also a matter of ensuring that taxpayers are receiving the full economic development return on their investments.” Both USDA and the Department of Commerce administer broadband funding programs with funds earmarked by Congress, while the FCC administers a low-income and no-business case advanced telecommunications subsidy through a USF fee on monthly phone bills. The FCC has said that to qualify as providing high-speed broadband, its Lifeline USF subsidy, which is being migrated to broadband, must be at least 10 Mbps, though it has said 25 Mbps should be the new table stakes.