Pai Draft Says Mobile Not Substitute for Fixed Broadband, Section 706 Mandate Met
The FCC would conclude mobile broadband isn't a full substitute for fixed broadband, and maintain a fixed service benchmark of 25/3 Mbps, Chairman Ajit Pai said Thursday on a draft report he circulated with commissioners under Section 706 of the Telecom Act. Taking a "holistic approach," the draft would say the FCC is "meeting its statutory mandate" to promote broadband on a reasonable and timely basis, though more actions are needed, he said. A notice of inquiry asked whether 10/1 Mbps mobile broadband might be a fixed substitute for purposes of advanced telecom capability (ATC) deployment, a suggestion Democratic commissioners and others opposed (see 1709200042 and 1710100053).
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The draft notes differences between fixed and mobile broadband, "including clear variations in consumer preferences and demands," Pai said. He said the draft thus evaluates progress in deploying both fixed and mobile broadband. The report would indicate "the pace of both fixed and mobile broadband deployment declined dramatically in the two years following the prior Commission’s Title II Order" under the Communications Act, he said. "However, the draft report also discussed how, over the course of the past year, the current Commission has taken steps to reduce barriers to infrastructure investment and promote competition in the broadband marketplace. Taken together, these policies indicate that the current FCC is now meeting its statutory mandate to encourage the deployment of broadband on a reasonable and timely basis."
“While we are now headed in the right direction, our work has just begun," Pai said. "Far too many Americans still lack access to high-speed Internet, and that’s why the FCC’s top priority under my leadership remains bridging the digital divide.”
Democratic commissioners offered mixed assessments. “For years telecom companies and government officials have promised Americans that 'soon' they will have affordable, high-speed broadband," said Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. "Yet millions continue to wait, hoping that this vital connection will bring economic development and prosperity to their community. ... So how can this agency now claim that broadband is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion? Only by repeating the majority’s tired and debunked claims that broadband investment and innovation screeched to a halt in 2015." She acknowledged the draft "addresses one of my concerns by now correctly concluding that mobile and fixed connectivity are not substitutes.”
“I’m glad that the FCC has backed away from its crazy idea to lower the broadband speed standard," said Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel in a statement. "But it defies logic to conclude that broadband is being reasonably and timely deployed across this country when over 24 million Americans still lack access. This is especially tragic when according to the Senate Joint Economic Committee, there are twelve million kids that are caught in the Homework Gap because they lack Internet service at home. We should be reaching for faster speeds and universal access." Other commissioners didn't comment.
The 25/3 Mbps standard remains the appropriate measure for assessing whether a fixed service provides advanced telecom capability, said an FCC fact sheet. It said because fixed and mobile service aren't full substitutes for each other, it's important to evaluate progress in deploying both. "Analyzing broadband deployment progress is most consistent with the language of section 706," it said. "The draft report finds that analyzing progress to determine whether deployment is occurring in a reasonable and timely fashion is the approach most consistent with the language of section 706, as this enables the Commission to determine whether advanced telecommunications capability 'is being deployed' as the law requires."
"Since the last report [in 2016], the FCC has taken many steps to encourage broadband deployment," it said. Among the actions were to: "reduce regulatory barriers to wireline and wireless infrastructure deployment," create a Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee, "reform" legacy high-cost USF mechanisms, "modernize" business data service rules to facilitate competition, and remove "heavy-handed" Title II broadband regulation.
"[I]t appears the Commission has undertaken a careful and rigorous analysis," USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter said. "Over the last two decades, the broadband industry has invested over $1.6 trillion to connect rural and urban communities. The report recognizes significant industry efforts to deploy broadband in a timely and reasonable manner, while also acknowledging more work needs to be done to fully extend high speed internet to underserved communities."