There are a ton of different ways to get your internet connection, which is why “broadband” is something of a blanket term that just means “fast service.” But what counts as fast? Not many of the home connections available in the US, according to the United States Federal Communications Commission.
A new federal government definition of broadband raises the minimum threshold to 100 megabits down, 20 megabits up, thanks to a long-awaited ruling that comes into effect today. That’s a 400 percent/600 percent increase over the previous minimums set in order to advertise for wired broadband service, 25Mbps down/3Mbps up.
For a quick example, the cheapest “broadband” package advertised by my local ISP, Blue Ridge, meets this standard for downloads (300Mbps) but not uploads (7Mbps). In order to count as true broadband, users in this service area have to upgrade to the highest advertised package, 2Gbps/40Mbps, at nearly $100 a month for a promotional price.
The FCC last raised its standard of broadband in 2015, and the next bump will be to 1Gbps/500Mbps at some point in the future. According to the Commission’s short announcement (PDF link), 24 million Americans (7%) lack access to fixed internet at the new speed. That figure rises to 24% and 28% of people in rural areas and Native American tribal lands, respectively.
Mobile networks are helping to close that gap — notably companies like T-Mobile and Verizon offer 5G service to the home as a replacement for wired internet. But mobile broadband still isn’t available for 9% of the country at the basic 35Mbps down/3Mbps up standard.
