The Federal Communications Commission (FTC) has ditched a long-term target of gigabit broadband deployment. Ironically, it's also approved plans for satellite services which could make such speeds more widely available.

The target involves the official definition of broadband which is used for determining whether the FCC can and take action to push for faster speeds. This includes subsidies and other funding, and measures designed to boost competition.

The threshold was last raised in 2024, from 25Mbps download/3 Mbps upload to 100 Mbps/20Mbps. At the time the FCC said this better reflected the services on offer and the expectations of consumers.

At the time the FCC adopted a long term goal of 1Gbps for downloads and 500 Mbps for uploads, though didn't put a timeline on adopting that threshold.

Scrapping the Target

Now under new leadership, the FCC has abolished the goal and is citing two reasons. One is that there is no need to have a goal because there is no way of knowing what consumers will consider sufficient speeds in the future.

The other, more controversial, reason is that a 1Gbps threshold would be "unreasonably prejudicial" to some forms of broadband such as satellite and mobile data which cannot support such speeds. That was presented as an interpretation of net neutrality principles, though critics say that is not the intention of such principles. (Source: arstechnica.com)

The change does not affect a separate rule which says the government will only offer grants for companies to expand Internet provision (for example, in unprofitable regions) if they offer speeds of at least 1Gbps.

Satellite Expansion

Ironically, given the explanation that the threshold might discriminate against satellite technology, the FCC has authorized (and partly funded) a Space X plan to launch a further 7,500 "second generation" satellites which use a higher communications frequency and a lower orbiting altitude. The company says this will allow it to offer both upload and download speeds of 1Gbps worldwide.

The FCC justified the decision by saying that it will expand high-speed access and provide more competition in areas which currently have only one option for Internet service. (Source: satnews.com)

What's Your Opinion?

Do you think 1Gbps should be the standard for broadband? Is it fair to lower goals to accommodate slower technologies like mobile data? Would you switch to satellite Internet if it offered gigabit speeds?