FCC Says 34 Million Americans Lack Average Fixed Broadband Access

This is the first time HughesNet Gen4 has been evaluated in the “Measuring Broadband America” report, which the FCC publishes annually to document the evolution of broadband service quality, including download and upload speeds and the performance of specific applications, such as Web browsing, Voice over IP (VoIP), and streaming video. It also estimated that 55 million people, or 17 per cent of the population, lacked access to the 25/3 standard.

The agency’s five commissioners will consider whether to sign off on the report at its open meeting later this month. “While the nation continues to make progress in broadband deployment, advanced telecommunications capacity is not being deployed in a reasonable and timely fashion to all Americans”, the report states.

Many of these state laws hinder community broadband operations from expanding, or in some states even from partnering with private companies to improve their broadband fortunes.

Americans in those areas primarily rely on mobile and wireless providers for Internet access, which traditionally lag far behind wired speeds. Not only have broadband speeds increased dramatically in recent years, but broadband’s reach has grown significantly, especially in rural areas.

Still, the percentage of Americans without access to fixed broadband has fallen from 20 percent in 2012.

Both USTelecom and NCTA pointed out that another FCC report released December 30 found that ISPs are generally delivering the speeds they advertise.

“The Report looked at hard evidence and declines to “rubber stamp” carriers’ claims of accessibility”, Public Knowledge Staff Attorney Meredith Rose said.

Forty-one percent of schools – responsible for educating 47 percent of the nation’s students – also failed to meet the FCC’s minimum requirement of 100 Mbps per 1,000 students and staff. According to the FCC, only 9 percent of schools now have a fiber connection capable of meeting the agency’s long-term goal of 1 Gbps per 1,000 students.

The FCC will vote on issuing a final report on broadband access at the end of January. Last year, the FCC raised its benchmark speeds for fixed broadband to 25 Mbps and 3 Mbps from 4 Mbps and 1 Mbps.