The FCC in the US quadruples the requirements

A few days ago, the Federal Network Agency set minimum Internet coverage at 10 Mbit/s download and 1.7 Mbit/s upload; Values ​​have long haunted German officials. In the US, things are a little further ahead: the FCC has now quadrupled the values ​​you must provide to be called broadband. Instead of 25 Mbit/s download and 3 Mbit/s upload, 100 Mbit/s download and 20 Mbit/s upload are now required to advertise a “broadband connection” in the US.

Admittedly, it's by no means standard of care in remote corners of America, but it can't be marketed as broadband. Of course, providers don't like it that much because they don't have many options anymore. “Fiber optic” is often advertised across the country, even though the last mile is still copper.

Americans have also had their share of Internet expansion and domestically, some of the strongest monopolies of individual providers. The FCC report highlights several areas where the nation's online infrastructure is lacking. The agency concluded that broadband deployment is not moving fast enough to cover Americans, particularly those living in rural areas and tribal areas. “These gaps in expansion are not closing fast enough,” the authority writes.

In addition to landline networks, 5G coverage is poor in some cases – especially in rural areas. However, you have to look at completely different areas than Europeans. The FCC's long-term Internet goal is 1 Gbit/s download and 500 Mbit/s upload. As the FCC announced 100 Mbit/s in 2015, this should also be a sign of the next adjustment. Unfortunately, it took nearly ten years to materialize.

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Source: FCC