Raising the Minimum Fixed Broadband Speed Benchmark: Background and Selected Issues
July 12, 2021
Raising the Minimum Fixed Broadband Speed Benchmark:
Background and Selected Issues
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic
assessment, the FCC also considers whether the minimum
demonstrated the impact that broadband (i.e., high-speed
benchmark speed is appropriate. In 2015, the FCC, citing
internet access)—or a lack thereof—has on daily life.
changing broadband use patterns with multiple devices
Broadband service is provided over many types of
requiring broadband service within a household, raised its
technologies, including cable, telephone wire, fiber,
benchmark from 4/1 Mbps to 25/3 Mbps. In 2021, the FCC
satellite, and mobile and fixed wireless. The Federal
concluded that broadband service is being deployed in a
Communications Commission (FCC) has set a minimum
reasonable and timely fashion, and that the 25/3 Mbps
fixed broadband speed that serves as the benchmark for its
benchmark continued to be appropriate.
determination whether broadband “is being deployed to all
Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion.” It is
Policy Considerations Associated with
directed to make this determination by Section 706(b) of
Raising the Minimum Fixed Broadband
the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-104)
Speed Benchmark
(Section 706 hereinafter). If its determination is negative,
the FCC is directed to take action to accelerate deployment
FCC 706 Determination
through the establishment of new broadband programs or to
Raising the minimum speed benchmark may make it more
use regulatory tools to remove barriers to infrastructure
likely that the FCC would find that broadband deployment
investment and competition.
is not occurring in a reasonable and timely fashion and
increase the number of households it considers unserved.
Currently, the FCC’s minimum fixed broadband speed
This may precipitate the need for the FCC to take further
benchmark is 25 megabits per second (Mbps) for
action in the form of new broadband programs or initiatives
downloading and 3 Mbps for uploading data, commonly
to speed deployment, or regulatory action—such as
referred to as “25/3 Mbps.” There are many online
streamlining infrastructure deployment rules.
applications for which 25/3 Mbps is adequate—browsing,
email, and video streaming to a single device. However,
The FCC may also consider the adequacy of broadband
some stakeholders are calling for a higher benchmark,
adoption—if broadband is physically deployed to a
citing a variety of uses that require increased speeds. For
particular area but is not affordable—under Section 706.
example, faster speeds would allow multiple users in a
Additionally, the affordability of devices such as
household to simultaneously participate in high-definition
smartphones, laptops, and tablets may leave some users
video conferencing for work or school, browse, stream
unable to take advantage of broadband even if it is
videos, and play online games. Additionally, faster speeds
available, which the FCC may decide to address through
may allow users to keep up with future bandwidth demands
subsidy programs.
associated with a shift of many household functions online,
such as phone and television service, thermostats, video
Consistent Federal Agency Speed Thresholds
doorbells and security cameras, and connected appliances.
Federal agencies administering broadband programs use
minimum speed benchmarks to identify areas of the country
According to the FCC, 14.5 million Americans currently
where broadband providers may be eligible to receive
lack broadband at the 25/3 Mbps benchmark. Congress
subsidies to provide service that meets or exceeds the
might consider how to best ensure the provision of adequate
benchmark. There are inconsistencies across agencies. For
broadband service to areas and users that currently lack it
example, the FCC broadband benchmark is 25/3 Mbps,
and encourage the development and provision of faster
while the U.S. Department of Agriculture uses 10/1 Mbps.
broadband service across new and existing networks. An
Whether or not the FCC increases its minimum speed
additional consideration is what benchmark speed would
benchmark, Congress might consider specifying the FCC
allow the multiple uses identified above, but is not so high
benchmark as the standard for all federal agencies
as to make build-out costs prohibitive.
administering broadband programs.
The Federal Communications
A potential consequence of raising the speed benchmark is
Commission and Section 706
that federal funds intended to provide service to areas
Section 706 requires the FCC, an independent government
currently without any broadband service may be redirected
agency overseen by Congress, to determine annually
to areas that currently meet the existing 25/3 Mbps
whether broadband is being deployed to all Americans on a
benchmark for upgrades to existing networks. In many
reasonable and timely basis. It does so by collecting data on
cases, network upgrades are less costly than deploying new
whether broadband service that meets the speed benchmark
networks in sparsely populated and remote areas, or areas
is available to users in a geographic area. As part of this
with difficult terrain. Congress may want to consider
https://crsreports.congress.gov
link to page 2 Raising the Minimum Fixed Broadband Speed Benchmark: Background and Selected Issues
prioritizing funding for areas without 25/3 Mbps broadband
Symmetrical Speeds
before upgrading existing 25/3 Mbps networks.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led some policymakers to
call for symmetrical broadband speeds, with equal
Investment in Fiber Networks
download and upload capacity. Pandemic-related remote
Fiber currently offers the highest broadband upload and
work, schooling, and telemedicine has increased household
download speeds. Depending on what speed threshold a
demand for online video conferencing, which requires
new FCC benchmark may be raised to, additional fiber
upload capacity. According to NCTA—the Internet and
construction across the United States may be necessary due
Television Association—download usage has grown 26.6%
to the speed limitations of competing technologies. See
overall and upload usage has grown 49.0% overall since
Figure 1.
March 1, 2020.
In many cases, deploying fiber requires subsurface digging
In a March 4, 2021, bipartisan letter to the Secretary of
to bury conduit and physically connecting each household.
Agriculture, Secretary of Commerce, FCC Acting
It may also require providers to acquire rights-of-way,
Chairwoman, and Director of the National Economic
which can be an expensive and lengthy process.
Council, Senator Michael Bennet, Senator Angus King,
Department of Transportation statistics indicate that the
Senator Rob Portman, and Senator Joe Manchin asked for
average cost of laying fiber is $27,000 per mile. Many rural
an update to the definition of high-speed broadband to 100
areas are remote, have low numbers of geographically
Mbps both upload and download:
dispersed potential users relative to more densely populated
urban and suburban areas, and may have terrain, such as
Our goal for new deployment should be
mountain ranges or ground that is frozen for long periods of
symmetrical speeds of 100 megabits per second
time, that makes the areas both difficult and costly to serve
(Mbps), allowing for limited variation when
with fiber.
dictated by geography, topography, or unreasonable
cost.
If the new benchmark speed can only be met by fiber,
Congress may consider increasing federal broadband
The letter urged that limited federal dollars be spent on
program funding to subsidize fiber coverage for high-cost
broadband networks capable of providing sufficient
areas. Congress may also consider subsidizing other
download and upload speeds and quality, for modern
broadband technologies, such as satellite broadband, that
and emerging uses.
may expand broadband availability in unserved areas.
Residential broadband traffic has historically been
Figure 1. Fixed Broadband Upload and Download
asymmetric, and symmetrical speeds may not be
Speed Ranges by Broadband Technology
feasible for all broadband technologies. For example,
some stakeholders, such as AT&T, have opposed raising
Broadband
Download
Upload Speed
the definition to 100/100 Mbps for this reason. In a
Technology
Speed Range
Range
March 26, 2021, blog post, AT&T stated:
Cable
10-500 Mbps
5-50 Mbps
Some flexibility must be preserved, particularly for
the next generation of fixed wireless technologies
Digital Subscriber
5-35 Mbps
1-10 Mbps
likely to be deployed in the recently auctioned C-
Line
Band that will easily deliver performance at 100
Fiber
250-1,000 Mbps
250-1,000 Mbps
Mbps down. But wireless networks are not built to
Fixed Wireless
10-25 Mbps
1 Mbps
deliver symmetrical speeds, so any mandate around
symmetrical performance could undermine delivery
Satellite
25 Mbps
3 Mbps
of these efficient and robust technology solutions in
(Geostationary)
hard to serve areas of the country.
Satellite (Low-earth
100 Mbps
20 Mbps
Congress may want to consider policy options that
orbit)
encourage a higher benchmark that closely reflects
Source: Tyler Cooper, DSL vs Cable vs Fiber: Comparing Internet
consumer usage, while taking into account anticipated
Options, BroadbandNow, May 3, 2021, at https://broadbandnow.com/
deployment costs and feasibility.
guides/dsl-vs-cable-vs-fiber;
For More Information
HughesNet, How Fast Is HughesNet Gen5?, at
https://www.hughesnet.com/get-started;
CRS Report R46613, The Digital Divide: What Is It, Where
AT&T, Fixed Wireless Internet, at https://www.att.com/internet/fixed-
Is It, and Federal Assistance Programs, by Colby Leigh
Rachfal.
wireless/;
R. Edward Price, Petition of Starlink Services, LLC For Designation as an
Eligible Telecommunications Carrier, Space Exploration Technologies
Colby Leigh Rachfal, Analyst in Telecommunications
Corporation, February 3, 2021, p. 4, at https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/
Policy
1020316268311/Starlink%20Services%20LLC%20Application%20for
IF11875
%20ETC%20Designation.pdf.
Notes: Mbps means megabits per second. Speeds of fixed broadband
service may vary from provider to provider.
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Raising the Minimum Fixed Broadband Speed Benchmark: Background and Selected Issues
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https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF11875 · VERSION 1 · NEW