Stay Course in Annual Broadband Report, Industry Tells FCC
Report ISPs are deploying broadband to all Americans "in a reasonable and timely fashion," industry told the FCC in comments posted through Monday in docket 19-285 on a notice of inquiry for the 15th annual Communications Act Section 706 report (see 1910230065). Critics said the last report overstated broadband deployment (see 1905290017).
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The FCC proposes to use the same form 477 to measure broadband deployment in its next report, and it should, said America's Communications Association. New broadband mapping in digital opportunity data collection will improve future ones, said ACA.
Adjust the current speed benchmark upward to reflect current and near-term capabilities, recommended the Fiber Broadband Association. Incompas urged the FCC to adopt 1 Gbps as the fixed broadband benchmark. USTelecom backs continuing 25/3 Mbps as a benchmark for fixed broadband while the FCC evaluates "multiple speed tiers over a five-year period." USTelecom said the 25/3 approach aligns with the FCC's vision for reasonably comparable broadband service in rural areas through its proposed Rural Digital Opportunity Fund.
NCTA wants the FCC to prioritize areas that "do not even have access to 10/1" when it implements RDOF, it said, adding "bringing service to areas with no broadband should be a higher priority than bringing service to areas with slow broadband." With 25/3 Mbps the benchmark for fixed broadband in USF programs, raising the benchmark now "is not advisable," said ITTA. Public Knowledge, Common Cause and Next Century Cities said the FCC should adopt a forward-looking approach and increase the benchmark speed to 100 Mbps downstream.
The FCC could help narrow the digital divide by making more spectrum available for fixed wireless services and continue to include fixed wireless in USF auctions, said the Wireless ISP Association. Viasat wants the FCC to "expand opportunities for satellite providers to participate in future broadband support mechanisms" instead of increasing latency penalties as proposed for RDOF. PK said including fixed satellite service in reports overstates broadband deployment.
The FCC should confirm mobile broadband deployment is reasonable and timely, CTIA said. It wants the FCC to target support for mobile broadband deployment in unserved rural areas.
Time is "ripe" for the FCC to "conduct a more incisive analysis of fixed/mobile broadband substitution," said the Free State Foundation. The broadband market has evolved enough that mobile and fixed broadband should be viewed as full substitutes within the broadband deployment report's framework, said the Internet Innovation Alliance.
Others disagree. Mobile broadband services, "while providing significant value of their own for many uses, are not a substitute for fixed," NTCA said. It suggested a rural area with broadband access limited to mobile might have a hard time attracting businesses. Most rural areas "do not have access to adequate cellular coverage," said Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Washington state. The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society said "particular attention should be paid" to challenges involved with deploying broadband on tribal lands. "Addressing the nation's 'digital divide' primarily as a rural broadband infrastructure problem, with no consideration for the affordability of home broadband services," is short-sighted, said the National Digital Inclusion Alliance.
"With such a large number of Latinos and Americans on the wrong side of the digital divide," the National Hispanic Media Coalition wants "policies and practices that paint an honest and accurate picture of the status of broadband deployment and adoption." Incompas said an NPRM to remove regulations on unbundled network elements could limit market competition and new fiber builds.