US Broadband Success is a Moving Target
There are many opinions about the availability of broadband in the United States. For the most part, though, people fall into two main camps. One side says the US has fallen woefully behind other countries in the last few years, while the other insists that the private sector has done a great job in rolling out broadband services during that same time. As with most controversial issues (unless an objective truth is at stake) the answer is probably somewhere in between.
The FCC just released a report that states approximately 14 to 20 million Americans remain without broadband access. I find this dubious for one very important reason, and that has to do with the definition of broadband. The FCC is now defining a broadband connection as a minimum of 4 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload. The good news is they finally updated the definition from their previous mark of 200 Kbps, which hardly even made sense in 1996. However, by using this new definition to assess the availability of broadband in the US, they are over emphasizing the problem at best, and misleading at worst.
Much of the FCC’s emphasis in the National Broadband Plan has been about closing a divide that prevents a segment of our population from enjoying the opportunities that broadband can bring. But, someone with a 3 Mbps or even a 1 Mbps connection is certainly not left out. They are able to use the Internet to find a job, buy stuff online, pay their bills, or stream the latest episode of their favorite show on Hulu. In fact, an FCC survey released last month indicated that most Americans don’t know the speed of their Internet connection, and the vast majority are satisfied with whatever it is.
Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s great to have a goal, and whether it is a minimum 4M x 1M connection for everyone, or 100M for 100 million Americans, I’m on board. Let’s raise the high-water mark. But, there are a number of broadband providers in rural America who are doing a fine job offering broadband to their communities, but who are not yet up to the current FCC minimum target for broadband. To include those communities in a report about a lack of broadband access in America is wrong. Instead, let’s focus that kind of report on assessing areas where there truly is no option for Internet access other than dial-up or satellite.
Author: Rick Yuzzi (68 Articles)
Rick Yuzzi has over 25 years experience in sales, marketing and management. Hired in 1995 to establish the sales department for a fledgling Internet Service Provider that later became ZCorum, he is now a key member of the executive team, overseeing the company's marketing efforts. In addition to blogging on marketing and the industry, Rick also tweets as @ZCorum.