We don't need to define broadband
February 2, 2015
[Commentary] There is no bright speed line between "broadband" and "not broadband." Instead, any standard should be based on studies of consumer demand and explicitly stated policy objectives.
Such an approach would yield a more nuanced view of broadband that would ultimately be more useful to informed policymaking. A useful standard must take into account consumer preferences and explicit policy objectives. Drawing a virtual line in the sand and declaring any service on one side to be unacceptable doesn't consider either of those especially deeply. Any definition, like competition analysis, should take into account consumer demand.
[Scott Wallsten is Vice President for Research and Senior Fellow at the Technology Policy Institute]
We don't need to define broadband