FCC drops gigabit speed target, calls it unfair to slower tech
▼ Summary
– The FCC eliminated the Biden-era gigabit speed goal, declaring current US broadband deployment levels acceptable.
– The 2024 benchmark remains 100Mbps downstream and 20Mbps upstream, but the long-term 1,000/500Mbps target was abolished.
– FCC Chairman Brendan Carr finalized the change on August 14, arguing the goal violated Section 706’s technologically neutral mandate.
– The FCC cited comments from cable and wireless industry groups as supporting the abolition.
– The FCC denied the move was meant to favor slower satellite and fixed wireless technologies, despite earlier concerns about prejudice.
The Federal Communications Commission has scrapped the gigabit-speed benchmark introduced during the Biden era, ruling that current U.S. broadband deployment levels are sufficient. While fiber-optic providers have delivered such speeds for years, the agency now argues the gigabit target violates the principle of technological neutrality, placing slower platforms at an unfair disadvantage.
Two years ago, the FCC updated its broadband benchmark to 100Mbps download and 20Mbps upload, using that threshold to assess whether deployment is both reasonable and timely. At the same time, it established a forward-looking goal of 1Gbps downstream paired with 500Mbps upstream, framed as a compass for guiding future infrastructure investment.
Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr, now the agency’s chairman, opposed that long-term target from the start. He floated its removal last year, and on August 14 the change became official within the FCC’s latest Section 706 deployment report, a requirement under the Telecommunications Act.
The order states: “As part of our return to following the plain language of Section 706, we adopt our proposal from the Notice [of Inquiry] to abolish without replacement the long-term goal of 1,000/500 Mbps established in the 2024 Report. A long-term goal is not mentioned in Section 706 and could appear to violate our obligation to conduct our analysis in a technologically neutral manner. At present, it is impossible to predict long-term technological developments and the evolution of consumer preferences.”
The FCC noted that comments from the NCTA, the cable industry’s trade group, and CTIA, which represents wireless carriers, reinforced its rationale for dropping the target.
Earlier, the Carr-led FCC suggested the gigabit goal “may be unreasonably prejudicial to technologies such as satellite and fixed wireless that presently do not support such speeds.” However, the latest report insists the decision isn’t a favor to slower-tech providers. Instead, it frames the move as a return to statutory interpretation and a recognition that forecasting the future of connectivity is inherently speculative.
(Source: Ars Technica)
