FCC Report Finds Broadband Deployment Doesn't Meet Section 706 Standard

The FCC said the country was making significant progress, but it couldn't conclude advanced telecom capability (broadband) was being deployed to all Americans in a “reasonable and timely fashion” pursuant to Section 706 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. The commission said 34 million Americans lacked access to fixed data speeds of at least 25/3 Mbps (download/upload), its general definition of broadband, though that was down from 55 million the year before, an agency release said.

The commission also cited a persistent rural/urban disparity. While only 4 percent of urban dwellers didn't have 25/3 broadband available, 39.4 percent of rural residents and 41 percent of tribal residents lacked such access (down from 53 percent and 63 percent, respectively). In addition, it said only 59 percent of schools met the commission’s short-term goal of delivering at least 100 Mbps per 1,000 users and much less had met its long-term goal of delivering 1 Gbps per 1,000 users.

As expected, the FCC said mobile broadband is a necessary part of the mandate -- complementing not substituting for wireline broadband -- but it didn't use mobile data to make its negative finding and declined to set a speed definition or service standards on consistency and latency. The commission applied the 25/3 benchmark to both fixed terrestrial and satellite service but noted no satellite service met the standard.

Wheeler said the “facts speak for themselves” and, given the data, “we cannot say that we are meeting the standard Congress set forth. We have a moral and statutory obligation to do better.” Noting a mandate to take immediate action if the FCC reaches a negative finding, Wheeler said the FCC was continuing to take actions to close the digital divide separating rural and tribal lands from the rest of the country.

Commissioner Mignon Clyburn backed permanent mobile broadband USF support and voiced concern that wireless providers were estimated in 2014 to still be receiving $590 million in legacy voice support with no duty to provide broadband or connect unserved customers. She also urged action to make service more affordable, including through Lifeline broadband coverage.

Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel called for “big and bold” new steps. "I think our new threshold should be 100 Megabits -- and Gigabit speed should be in our sights," she said. "I believe anything short of goals like this shortchanges our children, our future and our digital economy. This may not be easy, but we can do it.”

Commissioner Mike O'Rielly dissented, saying he "strongly opposed" the conclusion that broadband wasn't being deployed pursuant to the statutory mandate, given the report's own findings of improved broadband availability. "Apparently, no amount of progress will ever be good enough for a commission that is bent on regulating broadband at all cost," he said. "The task before us is to consider whether deployment in the United States is reasonable and timely, and the objective, empirical answer to that is a resounding yes. In fact, it is more than reasonable considering the unnecessary burdens that the Commission has continued to heap upon broadband providers in the meantime." He acknowledged more work is needed in rural and remote areas and said he's spending much time on that effort.

Commissioner Ajit Pai concurred and said the report showed the FCC and Obama administration had failed in their broadband efforts, despite much USF support and stimulus spending. "American taxpayers aren't getting the bang they deserve for their hard-earned bucks," he said. "After seven years, $63.6 billion spent, and plenty of talk, this Administration’s policies have failed to deliver 'advanced telecommunications capability' -- broadband -- to the American people in a reasonable and timely fashion. The standard set forth by Congress is not being met. Rural America is being left behind." He said the FCC had failed to carry out various USF actions in a timely fashion and said it should develop a bipartisan policy to promote more broadband competition.

House Commerce Committee leaders knocked the report. "Moving the goalposts in the middle of the game is not productive, and it is not fair. When the FCC changed its definition of broadband Internet in 2015, it did not act out of necessity or market need, but rather to expand its power over job creators and Internet service providers," said Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and subcommittee Vice Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio.

USTelecom said the FCC report "seems to have become a cynical, fact-starved exercise with a conclusion that is contrived to justify a continuing expansion of regulatory authority. Given the $78 billion in annual private sector investment and the billions in USF support that is being used to extend broadband to remote parts of the county, it is ludicrous to say that broadband deployment in the United States is unreasonable -- and no one really believes it.” But Free Press said the report showed too many Americans still lack broadband, and it urged the FCC to take action to make service more affordable.

Various wireless companies and their associations have weighed in on the broadband report, most recently CTIA (see 1601250047). The Competitive Carriers Association, Mobile Future, PCIA, Sprint and T-Mobile were among those commenting in filings last year. The facts are clear, 99 percent of Americans have access to 4G LTE technology and 91 percent can choose from three or more providers, said Scott Bergmann, CTIA vice president-regulatory affairs, in a statement Thursday. Wireless companies made investments in their networks to the tune of $32 billion last year alone, he said. Consumers’ data usage almost doubled from 2012 to 2014, he said: "By any metric, wireless deployment is timely and reasonable in the United States and we are disappointed that the FCC is unwilling to acknowledge the facts.”

Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter also slammed the report. Rather than embracing the world-leading deployment of faster, more robust mobile networks, the report is in many places dismissive of the important role mobile plays in streamlining our lives, Spalter said: "It's extremely disappointing that the agency tasked with leading our digital future refuses to recognize what millions of Americans see each day.”

But CCA President Steve Berry agreed with the thrust of the report, the group said in a statement. The message and policy direction should be clear -- this continuing digital divide should incite the commission to ensure that all Americans have access to advanced broadband services -- both fixed and wireless, Berry said. CCA agrees with Clyburn that the commission should address lack of access by reforming USF and including a robust mobility fund to ensure all consumers, including those in rural areas, have access to comparable wireless services, he said.