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FCC Plan To Lower Broadband Standards Is Met With 'Mobile Only Challenge' (arstechnica.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Broadband consumer advocates have launched a "Mobile Only Challenge" to show U.S. regulators that cellular data should not be considered an adequate replacement for home Internet service. The awareness campaign comes as the Federal Communications Commission is considering a change to the standard it uses to judge whether broadband is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion. While FCC Chairman Ajit Pai hasn't released his final plan yet, the FCC may soon declare that America's broadband deployment problem is solved as long as everyone has access to either fast home Internet or cellular Internet service with download speeds of at least 10Mbps. That would be a change from current FCC policy, which says that everyone should have access to both mobile data and fast home Internet services such as fiber or cable.

"The FCC wants to lower broadband standards," organizers of the Mobile Only Challenge say on the campaign's website. "Pledge to spend one day in January 2018 accessing the Internet only on your mobile device to tell them that's not OK." The Mobile Only Challenge was organized by Public Knowledge, Next Century Cities, New America's Open Technology Institute, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC), and other groups. Participants are encouraged to share their experiences using the #MobileOnly hashtag.

145 comments

  1. the majority of internet users already use mobile by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This isn't going to have any effect. Or, maybe even the opposite effect.
    The majority of people already consume their internet on mobile devices primarily.
    All this is going to do is prove that wireless is adequate for most peoples needs.

  2. Re: the majority of internet users already use mob by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Agreed. Wireless operators are by far the largest isps

  3. 10Mbps by nwaack · · Score: 1

    Ummm, 10Mbps internet service isn't exactly slow. That's faster than my crappy AT&T DSL and I can still stream Netflix, etc. just fine even with another user in the home on the internet.

    1. Re:10Mbps by whoever57 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The problem with mobile isn't typically the speeds. It's the monthly bandwidth limits.

      --
      The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
    2. Re: 10Mbps by Veretax · · Score: 2

      As soon as you move away from an interstate a mile or two it drops fast

    3. Re:10Mbps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The problem with mobile isn't typically the speeds. It's the monthly bandwidth limits.

      Not to mention that, for the most part, the laggards have been in rural parts of America where cellular service is often spotty or nonexistent.

      For those of us who live closer to population centers, though, there's still the issue with bandwidth - as I recall, even T-Mobile states it may throttle your connection speed once you've hit 28G in a month.

    4. Re:10Mbps by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

      It's literally 100 times slower compared to my 1G/100Mbps fibre.
      Half the people in my country can get this speed.
      2/3rds can get 100/20Mbps fibre
      The rest have a combination of ADSL2+, VDSL, 3G and 4G
      By 2022 87% will have fibre to their home.

    5. Re:10Mbps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's literally 100 times slower compared to my 1G/100Mbps fibre.
      Half the people in my country can get this speed.

      Clearly you are not in the USA.

    6. Re:10Mbps by Baron_Yam · · Score: 1

      And here I am on 10M ADSL. Honestly, while I suppose it'd be nice to have more speed, I have yet to find the need for it. I can download 720p video faster than I can watch it, and that's my biggest bandwidth requirement.

      On the other hand, the faster the standard, the less I'll get charged for my 'slow' connection, so I'm all for that.

    7. Re:10Mbps by dryeo · · Score: 1

      For me, in Canada, being considered rural and remote with no access besides fixed mobile (4G with a shiny new tower), I get a 250 GB cap, probably with some government subsidy somewhere in there. Speed averages over 10/1 with one bar on the hub.
      Here it is considered an essential service with the plan to connect everyone, ideally at 50/5 but with 5/1 being acceptable for remote rural and 3/1 for the far north. The far north is quite challenging, areas that can contain a couple of Texas's with maybe 35,000 people.
      Interestingly, reading the faq at https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/..., seems broadband is defined as always on internet, or basically anything but dial-up.

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
    8. Re:10Mbps by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

      I found it handy to have decent upload bandwidth

      I can download media to my phone to watch on the commute home from work if I run out. Having decent upload bandwidth means it doesn't take long to download more over the guest wifi at work.

      I was wrong in my previous post, my speed is 950M/450M not 1G/100M

      years ago I thought 20/10 on VDSL was great and for a while I was happy on a 100/20 fibre plan.

    9. Re:10Mbps by kenh · · Score: 1

      It's literally 100 times slower compared to my 1G/100Mbps fibre.

      Your mobile devices are tethered to a 1 Gig fibre connection? Where do you live? Or did you miss the part where the 10 Mb/sec is a new definition for mobile access?

      --
      Ken
    10. Re:10Mbps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I guess you don't live in the boondocks. The other problem is erratic signal power. There are places where you only get a strong signal like every 10 minutes or so. This may just be a shitty AT&T problem, but I've seen it happen with Verizon too. It's like, welp... someone can call them, and I guess they have data every 10 minutes... broadband stamp achieved... But When the signal is low you literally can't even check your email it's so slow.

    11. Re:10Mbps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bandwidth caps aside, the main technical issue with mobile broadband is latency. It can work for browsing, email, and basic stuff that old people and judges associate with internet access, and can stream content too if the carrier allows it. But if you tether your mobile internet connection, latency will be too high for video games and web conferencing to work well no matter what speeds your ISP promises.

      Besides, once FCC is finished gutting net neutrality regulations, non-mobile internet will have that exact same data cap problem that we've come to expect from smart phones for years now.

    12. Re:10Mbps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ummm, 10Mbps internet service isn't exactly slow. That's faster than my crappy AT&T DSL and I can still stream Netflix, etc. just fine even with another user in the home on the internet.

      Yes, it is slow.

      You apparently have no idea how far behind the US is in internet connectivity.

      This whole 'solution', trying to provide internet through wireless? That is suitable for rural Africa, not rural US.
      There was money allocated to provide proper internet, but due to the kind of corruption you would expect in less democratic countries the money was pocketed as profits rather than spent they way they were supposed to.

      You had billions stolen from you right under your nose and instead of asking where your internet went you just accept it and say 'this is fine'.
      What is it you guys call people like that? Cucks?

    13. Re:10Mbps by houghi · · Score: 1

      I tried explaining this to a guy who is a networking consultant. He said he would be going with cable when he moved. I asked him what his contract said about data limits. He said the sales person told him it was unlimited. I again asked what the contract was. He insisted it was irrelevant. So he got cut of after a few days and had to take an account that was more with what he needed and now pays 4 times as to what I pay.
      This so he can download a movie faster than I can. I still can download faster than I can watch DHe has all the bandwith and what get I in return?
      No data limit. 30M up and 70M down speed (he has 250M up and down I think). No port blocking instead of a;; closed below 1024.
      I am also with a much smaller company, so the support is better as they need to fight for each customer. With him he gets to an outsourced callcenter if he calls.

      And all this because he thinks that bandwith is important. I know I would not hire him as a network consultant, but companies do and he makes a great living of it.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    14. Re:10Mbps by ASAPNow · · Score: 1

      There was money allocated to provide proper internet, but due to the kind of corruption you would expect in less democratic countries the money was pocketed as profits rather than spent they way they were supposed to.

      What money was allocated? Please point to the bill that was supposed to provide all of America with blazing fast internets.

  4. Re:Fake news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    "The FCC wants to lower broadband standards,"

    STANDARDS!! Not the speed. The standards will be lowered, as in having only Mobile available in an area will be considered serviced with high speed.

  5. The speed is 'eh', the cap+overage isn't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I'd live with fairly reliable 10M LTE for the near term. Some of my rural relatives would dance a jig if they could get it.

    The problem comes in with reliability, pricing, and caps. 10/2 cable for $35 a month with effectively no use cap is a very, very different thing from 10/2 LTE for $80 a month that shuts you off at 20 GB (i.e., 4.5 hours of use per month). If you just focus on the 10/2, you are intentionally being blind to the real difference.

  6. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  7. Sweet, sweet irony by SlaveToTheGrind · · Score: 1, Interesting

    "Pledge to spend one day in January 2018 accessing the Internet only on your mobile device to tell them that's not OK."

    And when the world doesn't come crashing to a halt, these synapse-starved activists will just prove the point that mobile is a perfectly viable alternative in most areas.

    1. Re:Sweet, sweet irony by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If we all pledge to do it on the same day, the cell network will come crashing to a halt.

    2. Re:Sweet, sweet irony by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I visited inlaws over the holidays. I had to VPN into work to help with an issue. To accomplish this I had to drive out into the middle of one of their fields, place my cell on top of my car and tether to it.

      Not a viable alternative no matter what you goobers say.

    3. Re:Sweet, sweet irony by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or just slow to a crawl. Except for all the people (likely a majority) who don't go mobile only and enjoy the much less congested fixed network.

    4. Re:Sweet, sweet irony by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I would reach my data cap in a single transaction if I was forced to do my hobby through cellular internet. God forbid I had to do my actual real job using only cell data.

      For the record, my hobby is graphic design-- uploading multiple gigabyte files for printing is a regular occurrence. My job is a consulting engineer. Engineering deliverables tend to be large once you start adding in three dimensional models.

      The point is, I can't do my job OR pursue my hobby in a cellular internet world. Could I live? Sure, I'd deliver files the old fashioned way, by mailing out packages or drawings ( or possibly thumb drives I guess) and I could just paint or draw from nature.

      That said, I didn't think I was living in the 1980s so I assumed I'd be able to pursue whatever hobby and job I wanted in the supposed "richest country in the world".

      When the ISP's agreed to expand broadband I didn't think it meant "the ability to send e-mails and watch a few youtube videos". If they are so inept they cannot make a profit off of the internet we might as well nationalize the infrastructure as it is obviously not a profitable pursuit for the free market.

    5. Re:Sweet, sweet irony by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      WiFi was down at my hotel, so I spent 2 weeks using only cell phones tethered to laptops. I got sick of local TV and watched Amazon and Netflix through my mobile services. And I'm on a pay-as-you-go plan. It ended up costing me an extra bit of cash than my usual monthly charges, but compared to the hotel bill it was not really that much.

      Downloaded and installed updates to an MMO while tethered as well. And the game played fine (well it didn't play that well because our laptops suck for games, but the network was otherwise working OK for us)

      My big concern for using mobile data instead of proper broadband is that mobile doesn't scale as cheaply for service at a fixed location (your home). I can run a wire as a one time permanent installation and there should be far more bandwidth on co-ax or twisted pair than the narrow spectrum of a device on a cell network. And the operating costs for running a wire should be relatively low compared to what a carrier has to do to get approval for spectrum from the FCC and putting towers up in places where people won't complain about the eyesore.

      What has failed is none of these corporations want to operate as a common carrier. They don't want to race to the bottom at delivering unfiltered Internet service. They want to instead upsell customers on various bullshit they don't need. cut into revenue for content providers and get more into advertising revenue. The Comcasts of the world wish they were Google, and are willing to bribe the FCC to get a cut. And it's gotten so bad that when municipalities try to run their own Internet service, just basic obvious service, they are shut out by lawyers from these companies that obviously do not want to provide normal Internet.

      My message to the modern cable conglomerate: Shit or get off the pot.

    6. Re:Sweet, sweet irony by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you think mobile broadband is anything close to a replacement for a real high speed Internet connection you don't use the Internet very much.

      You mean, like most people that don't have a "real" high speed internet connection?

    7. Re:Sweet, sweet irony by kenh · · Score: 1

      I visited inlaws over the holidays. I had to VPN into work to help with an issue. To accomplish this I had to drive out into the middle of one of their fields, place my cell on top of my car and tether to it.

      Not a viable alternative no matter what you goobers say.

      How many public libraries, Starbucks, McDonalds, etc. did you drive by to get cellphone coverage?

      BTW, this isn't about defining a new standard, it's about creating a new, additional standard - fixed remains at 25/3 Mb/sec, the new, additional standard is for mobile at 10/1 Mb/sec.

      --
      Ken
    8. Re:Sweet, sweet irony by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      I would reach my data cap in a single transaction if I was forced to do my hobby through cellular internet.

      Good thing the FCC isn't trying to force you to use just cellular networking, huh? This request for comments has nothing to do with that.

      That said, I didn't think I was living in the 1980s so I assumed I'd be able to pursue whatever hobby and job I wanted in the supposed "richest country in the world".

      The FCC isn't telling you that you cannot pursue your hobby or job.

      we might as well nationalize the infrastructure

      I think the point is that where cellular is the best option, there IS no fixed infrastructure to nationalize. It's not there because it costs money to put it there, with few customers to repay the costs.

      And the secondary point is, if you need gigabit speeds for your hobby or job, then picking someplace to live where you can't get that is a bad idea. If you want the peaceful surroundings of wilderness then gigabit internet isn't going to be a priority, or at least you should know you might have to drive into the next town to get access to it.

    9. Re:Sweet, sweet irony by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are woefully misinformed. That is not what Ajit is proposing at all. It is one or the other for a region to qualify as being served by broadband. I tether for work all the time. Tethering is capped at 5GB/per month with t-Mobile. There are options to get more but it adds up quick. It really doesn't take long to use that up. Now imagine you're a student doing homework and researching and of course watching youtube as that is how a lot of people learn how to do things these days.

      The state of mobile data in this country is atrocious. If you want to make us even less competitive this is a good way to handicap the future generations.

    10. Re:Sweet, sweet irony by freeze128 · · Score: 1

      What the hell kind of internet addict would crumble after only a DAY of inadequate internet? Use mobile-only for a MONTH, then we'll talk.

    11. Re:Sweet, sweet irony by pcjabber · · Score: 1

      And it's gotten so bad that when municipalities try to run their own Internet service, just basic obvious service, they are shut out by lawyers from these companies that obviously do not want to provide normal Internet.

      And this isn't FUD...this actually happened in North Carolina & Tennessee a couple years ago, after lobbying by the big cable companies & telcos.

      States win the right to limit municipal broadband, beating FCC in court
      Muni ISP forced to shut off fiber-to-the-home Internet after court ruling
      City ISP makes broadband free because state law prohibits selling access

      NC & TN aren't the only places municipal ISPs are restricted; as of 2014, 20 states had regulations limiting municipal ISPs in one way or another.

  8. Which is faster? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Funny thing about the wireless-versus-wired debate. I'm amused to see how my Sprint wireless access point is much faster than AT&T DSL.

  9. Re:Fake news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Perhaps I'm a simpleton, but isn't high-speed service, regardless of the means by which it is transmitted (copper, fiber, radio, whatever), still high speed service?

  10. Re:Fake news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Funny, just last year, the standard to be met was 25 down / 3 up, and now it's going to be 10 down / 1 up. Sounds like 'down' rather than up to me, Mr. Fake News.

    https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2678482-2016-BPR-Fact-Sheet.html

  11. Re:Fake news. by Swave+An+deBwoner · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You have a point provided that mobile (cellular) high speed service has similar pricing and usage limits as broadband (cable) service. That is normally not the case however; cellular service is typically more expensive and capped at lower usage than cable.

  12. Re:Fake news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And next year, if there's enough fiber on the marketplace you can purchase to physically run a line from a local data center to your home, the FCC will define standards that you have access to high speed internet access (some assembly required but access is there!).

  13. Seems like the uninformed... by RedK · · Score: 0

    ... making wrong assumptions. The FCC wants to classify mobile broadband as 10 mbps. They don't want to lower anything. Fake news is really starting to polute the minds of the gullible.

    --
    "Not to mention all the idiots who use words like boxen."
    Anonymous Coward on Monday August 04, @06:49PM
    1. Re:Seems like the uninformed... by kamapuaa · · Score: 1

      That's not what the article summary says, and that's not what anybody in these comments is claiming, so perhaps you should like work on your reading comprehension before calling other people gullible.

      --
      Slashdot: providing anti-social weirdos a soapbox, since 1997.
    2. Re:Seems like the uninformed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... making wrong assumptions. The FCC wants to classify mobile broadband as 10 mbps.

      ... when last year's FCC said it would be 25mbps, per Wheeler's 2016 draft progress report.

      So yes, Trump's FCC is indeed watering down the definition of "broadband".

    3. Re:Seems like the uninformed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you can't meet the standard, then just lower the standards! Who knew it would be so easy to provide broadband speeds to everyone?

      Amazing how the US is really lowering its standards!

    4. Re:Seems like the uninformed... by d0rp · · Score: 3, Informative
      Actually, he's right... I had to look it up to be sure, and according to this article , and the actual FCC document it references, says that the definition for fixed broadband remains the same, and it's only the mobile broadband definition that is changing.

      First, we propose to maintain the current speed benchmark of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload (25 Mbps/3 Mbps) for fixed broadband, and we also seek comment about other potential benchmarks.

      We seek comment on whether a mobile speed benchmark of 10 Mbps/1 Mbps is appropriate for mobile broadband services. Would a download speed benchmark higher or lower than 10 Mbps be appropriate for the purpose of assessing American consumers’ access to advanced telecommunications capability?

    5. Re:Seems like the uninformed... by RedK · · Score: 1

      25 mbps is for fixed broadband. This 10 mbps limit is for mobile broadband.

      Nothing is getting lowered.

      --
      "Not to mention all the idiots who use words like boxen."
      Anonymous Coward on Monday August 04, @06:49PM
    6. Re:Seems like the uninformed... by d0rp · · Score: 1

      ... when last year's FCC said it would be 25mbps, per Wheeler's 2016 draft progress report

      That's for fixed broadband, it's the mobile broadband definition that is changing (though I haven't yet been able to find out what the current mobile speed is defined as). If you look at the actual FCC document, it clearly states that the fixed broadband definition should remain the same (at 25 down / 3 up)

    7. Re:Seems like the uninformed... by RedK · · Score: 1

      That's not what the article summary says, and that's not what anybody in these comments is claiming

      It's literally the article title, it's in the summary, and its on the activist website linked from the summary. I dunno how you missed it.

      Yes, those people are gullible. They swallowed the fake news that standards are being lowered and are pushing that narrative themselves.

      It is a false statement as that is not what is happening.

      --
      "Not to mention all the idiots who use words like boxen."
      Anonymous Coward on Monday August 04, @06:49PM
    8. Re:Seems like the uninformed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The reason ISPs want 10/1 to be recognized as "broadband" is so they can ignore customers who don't have access to 25/3 fixed broadband while still claiming that they're being adequately served. While they're not changing the definition of fixed broadband, they are effectively lowering the standard by arguing that a mobile connection is a viable way to access the internet.

      From Comcast's filing with the FCC:

      Leaving aside that the 25/3 Mbps benchmark is an arbitrary cut-off as explained below, any factually-based analysis of the marketplace demonstrates that Americans already have access to a growing number of offerings over varied transmission media, including fixed wireless, satellite, and mobile wireless, which are increasingly capable of very fast speeds. More importantly, Dr. Evans’ analysis ignores the fact that speeds lower than 25/3 Mbps can and do meet the needs of many consumers. As Dr. Christian Dippon explains, “[f]or many people, 10 Mbps service, or even 3 Mbps, is more than adequate.”

      They are explicitly stating that 10mbps down is "more than adequate" for consumers, and even go a step further by trying to argue that 3mbps down is somehow good enough. This is in direct response to the current 25/3 threshold for fixed broadband, which according to their own filing is only available to 76% of Americans as of mid-2016. If 10/1 is considered broadband, they can claim 100% broadband coverage.

      The real gullible people are the ones who think that anything a big ISP says can be taken at face value. They're experts at playing mind games, and if you think standards aren't being lowered here, you're the one getting played.

    9. Re:Seems like the uninformed... by flink · · Score: 1

      25 mbps is for fixed broadband. This 10 mbps limit is for mobile broadband.

      Nothing is getting lowered.

      Nothing gets lowered except your data cap, and hence the utility of having broadband. No one on mobile uses bandwidth the same way as we use fixed bandwidth, because it is an order of magnitude more expensive. Even mobile plans that are "unlimited" have a soft cap that will see you throttled after a few tens of GB compared with hundreds for a typical cable cap.

    10. Re:Seems like the uninformed... by RedK · · Score: 1

      They are explicitly stating that 10mbps down is "more than adequate" for consumers, and even go a step further by trying to argue that 3mbps down is somehow good enough

      I'm pretty sure that's not what even your quote says. Different people = different needs.

      If 10/1 is considered broadband, they can claim 100% broadband coverage.

      Only from MOBILE sources. Not FIXED sources. You'll never have 100% FIXED broadband coverage. It's just unfeasible in some areas, for economic and geographical reasons.

      So having a set standard of 10/1 for MOBILE is a step up, not down.

      So yes, you're gullible here when you try to claim the FCC are attempting to lower the standard. They are not.

      --
      "Not to mention all the idiots who use words like boxen."
      Anonymous Coward on Monday August 04, @06:49PM
    11. Re:Seems like the uninformed... by Dorianny · · Score: 1

      You don't seem to understand that what the FCC is doing is accepting 10/1 wireless links as a acceptable alternative to fixed line 25/3 broadband. This allows companies to access grants and bid on projects meant to bring broadband to rural and under-served areas. You think anyone will be laying cable now that they can get away with a much cheaper alternative? I'm afraid you sir are the gullible one

    12. Re:Seems like the uninformed... by RedK · · Score: 1

      What you people aren't told and don't research for yourselves is that MOBILE and FIXED deployments are followed seperately by the FCC.

      The 2015 had seperate deployment maps for FIXED vs MOBILE. There's a reason there are 2 categorisations.

      This allows companies to access grants and bid on projects meant to bring broadband to rural and under-served areas.

      VS companies not bidding on the projets at all ? I don't see the downside. Unless you're against rural areas having access to at the very least mobile broadband ? Why are you so mean to rural areas ?

      --
      "Not to mention all the idiots who use words like boxen."
      Anonymous Coward on Monday August 04, @06:49PM
    13. Re:Seems like the uninformed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lies

      10mbps mobile access is deemed 'good enough'.

      Trumpazees are so fucking stupid and obviously have such low standards where lowering them means raising because you can meet them.

      Does corporate spooge taste good?

      You fucktards are literally crying for participation trophies. Good going snowflake.

      numbnuts

    14. Re:Seems like the uninformed... by dryeo · · Score: 2

      Seems to me, the potential problem is low caps. If a couple of Windows updates maxes out your cap for the month, you still don't really have broadband.

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
    15. Re: Seems like the uninformed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, you are a fucking idiot. I can't think of any other words to describe you. Maybe a corporate cock sucking shilll.

      Before this, High speed for mobile and broadband was 25/3.

      FCC decides high speed for broadband is still 25/3

      FCC decides high speed for mobile is set at 10/1.

      How is that not a drop? They are lowering the bar and moving the goalposts at the same god damn time.

      Internet access is interneT access, regardless of how you receive your packets. Whether it's thru 4G, coax, or a god damn Ethernet cable. Defining broadband should apply to all those methods. Not single out one method.

    16. Re:Seems like the uninformed... by kenh · · Score: 1

      How about a few facts?

      Fixed Broadband definition (p. 6):

      14. We seek comment on the appropriate benchmark for fixed advanced telecommunications
      capability. Should we maintain the 25 Mbps download, 3 Mbps upload (25 Mbps/3 Mbps) speed
      benchmark, and to apply it to all forms of fixed broadband?
      For example, the most recent Internet Access
      Services Report finds that 59 percent of residential fixed connections equal or exceed such speed.34
      Should we consider modifying the 25 Mbps/3 Mbps benchmark? Those proposing different speed
      benchmarks should specify and provide justifications for their proposed alternatives. We also seek
      comment on whether there are other sources or data points we should consider.

      Mobile Broadband Definition (p. 7):

      18. The Commission has not previously set a mobile speed benchmark.37 Our consideration
      of whether and how to set a speed benchmark will be informed by assessing the mobile broadband
      services and speeds that are available to consumers today, as well as evidence regarding what services
      consumers are choosing today, and what might be available in the near future. We ask commenters to
      address these factors in their comments. Should the Commission set a mobile speed benchmark, and if
      so, what it should be? We anticipate that any speed benchmark we set would be lower than the 25
      Mbps/3 Mbps benchmark adopted for fixed broadband services, given differing capabilities of mobile
      broadband. We ask commenters to discuss this choice.38 We seek comment on how use cases,
      engineering studies, and any other relevant empirical data should inform a mobile speed benchmark in
      terms of both the downlink and the uplink speed.

      19. We seek comment on whether a mobile speed benchmark of 10 Mbps/1 Mbps is
      appropriate for mobile broadband services.
      Would a download speed benchmark higher or lower than 10
      Mbps be appropriate for the purpose of assessing American consumers’ access to advanced
      telecommunications capability? How should we appropriately consider edge speed in setting a mobile
      speed benchmark? As discussed below, in setting any mobile speed benchmark, how should we take into
      account the important issues of reliability/consistency of service and latency in the mobile broadband
      environment? Would it be more practical to use deployment of various air interface technologies (e.g.,
      LTE) as a proxy for speed benchmarks? In this case, could we maintain a technology-neutral evaluation
      but rely on deployment of technologies we understand to typically be used to provide mobile advanced
      telecommunications capability?

      --
      Ken
    17. Re:Seems like the uninformed... by kenh · · Score: 1

      If you can't meet the standard, then just lower the standards! Who knew it would be so easy to provide broadband speeds to everyone?

      Quick - What is the current definition for mobile broadband at the FCC?

      Answer - Trick question, it has no current definition, they are proposing the first definition of mobile broadband ever - your anger at the Trump Administration has forced you to invent reasons to maintain your anger at them. You literally have no idea what you are upset about, you just saw a bunch of villagers yelling and waving protest signs and it looked like fun so you decided to join in.

      Click here, read the actual FCC document - if you are in a hurry, just skip to page 7, and read sections 18 and 19:

      18. The Commission has not previously set a mobile speed benchmark

      19. We seek comment on whether a mobile speed benchmark of 10 Mbps/1 Mbps is
      appropriate for mobile broadband services.

      --
      Ken
    18. Re:Seems like the uninformed... by kenh · · Score: 1

      So yes, Trump's FCC is indeed watering down the definition of "broadband".

      No, No it isn't. The 25 Mb/sec definition is for fixed access, the proposed 10 Mb/sec definition is to set a new standard for mobile access - there is no previous definition for mobile access.

      --
      Ken
    19. Re:Seems like the uninformed... by kenh · · Score: 1

      You don't seem to understand that what the FCC is doing is accepting 10/1 wireless links as a acceptable alternative to fixed line 25/3 broadband.

      You don't seem to understand, the 25/3 broadband metric is unchanged - they are attempting to establish a definition for mobile broadband, not fixed...

      --
      Ken
    20. Re:Seems like the uninformed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And you don't seem to understand that broadband is broadband. Why would you allow a slower connection just because you're mobile? I'm on t-Mobile and I regularly get 100mbps over LTE. Further, watching a youtube video on a computer takes the same bandwidth on a phone. There is no reason for the metrics to be different. The 25/3 standard is absurd as it is when you compare us to the rest of the industrialized world.

  14. Re:Fake news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    People hate Ajit Pai for being a dishonest (and pompous) PRICK selling out the internet we all use for political payola for the GOP from Comcast/At*t. The cash giveaways by both ($1000, a pittance for working-class pauper drones) announced immediately as the GOP-advertised corporate tax giveaway was passed, THAT OUGHT TO TELL YOU WHO IS COORDINATING WITH WHOM AND WHY, HERE.

    Gin hate, lol? People just want the internet to work the way it always has, unimpeded by toll lanes and arbitrary castle walls. You're an apologist counterpuncher for anything Bobbied. When do you get your brown shirt?

  15. Re:Fake news. by hawguy · · Score: 2

    Perhaps I'm a simpleton, but isn't high-speed service, regardless of the means by which it is transmitted (copper, fiber, radio, whatever), still high speed service?

    Depend on your definition of "service", do you include usage caps in that?

    My household uses about 200GB/month of data.

    I can useually get 10 - 20mbit/sec from LTE so it's good enough for streaming but at the same level of usage, I'd hit my 5GB usage cap after the first day.

    So yeah, I'd have high speed service for one day, and 128kbit/second for the 29 days after that.

  16. Lower Standards? by Ronin+Developer · · Score: 2

    It seems to me that the FCC has been lowering its standards ever since Ajit took over control. Nothing new here.

    1. Re:Lower Standards? by luther349 · · Score: 1

      yes because hes bought and payed for by Comcast that the want to charge you 199$ a month just to check email.

    2. Re:Lower Standards? by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 1

      It seems to me that the FCC has been lowering its standards ever since Ajit took over control. Nothing new here.

      Except that it's not being lowered: https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/0808160504329/FCC-17-109A1.pdf

  17. Republican way.... by u19925 · · Score: 0

    During 1992 election time, Jay Leno made joke on Dan Quayle. "How do you improve mileage of US cars?". Dan Quayle's solution was to increase the size of the gallon. Once again they are going to improve broadband coverage in USA by redefining the broadband.

    1. Re:Republican way.... by PoopJuggler · · Score: 1

      Yep. The Republicans are pushing this so that their crony ISP buddies don't have to build the "broadband" infrastructure that they promised to, and that they charged their customers for.

    2. Re:Republican way.... by kenh · · Score: 1

      Once again they are going to improve broadband coverage in USA by redefining the broadband.

      It's a meaningless metric, are you seriously arguing that 10 Mb/sec is an intolerable connection speed?

      If the FCC declared "Broadband" to be 10 Gb/sec, would it make your home connection any faster? Why does defining it at 10 Mb/sec somehow impact your life in any meaningful way?

      --
      Ken
    3. Re:Republican way.... by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      Dan Quayle's solution was to increase the size of the gallon.

      You know, when Leno or Jon Stewart or Steven Colbert say completely outrageous insulting nonsense everyone assumes that it is supposed to be a joke. (Kathy Griffin had to go completely bonkers before she got called on the "joke" she made, but she expected we would all assume it was a joke to start with.) When a Republican politician says what is obviously a joke, everyone has a hissy fit and thinks he's serious.

      I think "increase the size of the gallon" is a perfect joke answer to a complicated question that would take more time than Leno allows his guests to answer seriously. Given that Leno's show is supposed to be humor, responding humorously to one of his questions is to be expected.

    4. Re:Republican way.... by PoopJuggler · · Score: 1

      If the ISP sold you a 10Gb connection and you only ever got 10Mb, then that's fraud.

    5. Re:Republican way.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      10 Mb/second is thoroughly unimpressive these days, but tolerable. However, that's completely missing the point.

      Many people (currently 41% of all residences, according to the FCC in August 2017) don't have access to a decent Internet connection. To address that, Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires the FCC to make an annual report on the status of reasonable Internet access. Naturally, the definition of "reasonable" changes over time.

      The latest definition was adopted in January 2015. Under this statement, an area is adequately served if it has 25/3 fixed broadband. If it doesn't then further investment into Internet infrastructure is needed.

      The new definition adds 10/1 mobile as an acceptable alternative to fixed broadband. That means all investment into infrastructure can suddenly stop dead, and everyone who was waiting for a fixed line is forced to put up with mobile data instead, which (in addition to being slower) is about 7400% more expensive to use.

  18. Re:Fake news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hi! This is the forest, but you cant see us cause of the trees!

  19. Re:the majority of internet users already use mobi by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    While I suspect it's true that most people use mobile devices primarily, I would love to see figures on how much they use on an LTE service versus over WiFi hotspots. My guess is that the data transfer distribution skews heavily towards WiFi.

    I know very few people who constantly use their LTE data.

  20. It absolutely is a replacement by SuperKendall · · Score: 0

    My mother's only option for network at her rural house was a very old, very poor DSL line that was around 30kBps at times (yes, bot even mbs).

    I got her a T-Mobile hotspot, and after that she was about to get a good 5-10MB/s, almost all the time. That meant she could actually watch HD Netflix. That meant she could download photos in a reasonable time. It was a terrific replacement for infrastructure that was going to take many years to get better.

    The ONLY downside is not related to physical equipment - the speed is great, what is not great is that there is no way to get more than 10GB of data in a month. You cannot pay them for more than that. It doesn't drop the connection, but it gets really slow after the limit is hit. Binge-On does help because Netflix traffic is excluded, at the cost of getting only 720p streams instead (still much better than what she was able to get before), but even with that over a month 10GB is not quite enough for her, a somewhat non-technical user - for any Slashdot user that cap would be far too low. If they want to regulate anything, make it so that it is at least possible to buy higher data caps at a premium.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:It absolutely is a replacement by dryeo · · Score: 1

      That's how it is working in Canada, if you are considered remote rural with no other choices, as I am, I get a 250GB cap for the same price as a 10GB cap in town. This is what is called fixed mobile, using a hub rather then tethering. The phone number isn't even currently activated.

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
    2. Re:It absolutely is a replacement by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      That would be perfect, even with a somewhat lower cap of 100 GB it would be plenty for lots of people. That's a really great solution to help rural users.

      She also has a hub (the mobile hotspot) that technically has a phone number but is not usable as such (cannot make calls, does not support SMS).

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    3. Re:It absolutely is a replacement by kenh · · Score: 1

      I got her a T-Mobile hotspot, and after that she was about to get a good 5-10MB/s, almost all the time. That meant she could actually watch HD Netflix. That meant she could download photos in a reasonable time. It was a terrific replacement for infrastructure that was going to take many years to get better.

      Wait, you mean 10 Mb/sec is actually a real-world useful bandwidth rate? The way folks here are reacting you'd think this was slower than dial-up!

      --
      Ken
    4. Re:It absolutely is a replacement by dryeo · · Score: 1

      This was the middle plan, not sure what the limits on the other plans were as 250GB seemed good.
      The hub does have 2 phone jacks and my neighbour, who seems to have a better relationship with the ISP's representative got her phone connected for $10 extra, supposedly I can do the same in a couple of months. It receives SMS as well, view-able through the web interface, but no way to send. I'd guess I could plug a phone in and access 911 if needed.
      Complaints, the hub at $300 ($12.50 a month over 2 years) was too expensive and the battery, rated at 8 hours, only lasts 3 hours.

      I'm happy with it. I believe there are some government subsidies involved as well, mostly federal but it is hard to find info.

      --
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
  21. Re:Fake news. by scdeimos · · Score: 1

    Heaven forbid anyone should reply with, like, actual facts...

    From 2016 we have:

    1. Approximately 34 million Americans still lack access to fixed broadband at the FCC’s benchmark speed of 25 Mbps for downloads, 3 Mbps for uploads

    2. Advanced telecommunications capability requires access to both fixed and mobile broadband

    REF: FCC Fact Sheet: 2016 Broadband Progress Report, Chairman’s Draft, https://assets.documentcloud.o...

    From 2017 under Ajit Pai we have:

    1. We seek comment on the appropriate benchmark for fixed advanced telecommunications capability. Should we maintain the 25 Mbps download, 3 Mbps upload (25 Mbps/3 Mbps) speed benchmark, and to apply it to all forms of fixed broadband?

    2. We seek comment on whether a mobile speed benchmark of 10 Mbps/1 Mbps is appropriate for mobile broadband services. Would a download speed benchmark higher or lower than 10 Mbps be appropriate for the purpose of assessing American consumers’ access to advanced telecommunications capability?

    REF: FCC THIRTEENTH SECTION 7 06 REPORT NOTICE OF INQUIRY, http://transition.fcc.gov/Dail...

    Maybe I'm blind but I don't see anything in the second document about changing the benchmark speeds for fixed broadband services.

  22. That'll show 'em by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    C'mon, everybody! Spend a day stabbing yourself to show Chairman Pai what a maroon he is!

  23. Re:Fake news. by quetwo · · Score: 1

    https://www.fcc.gov/reports-re...

    For 2015, 2016 and 2017, the speed of 25/1 is what they used as the definition of Broadband. The proposal is to lower this to 10/1 so that most cellular providers will meet the definition.

    Try again next time.

  24. Re:Fake news. by RedK · · Score: 0

    Funny, just last year, the standard to be met was 25 down / 3 up, and now it's going to be 10 down / 1 up. Sounds like 'down' rather than up to me, Mr. Fake News.

    https://www.documentcloud.org/...

    It is fake news. 25/3 is for FIXED broadband. 10/1 is for MOBILE broadband.

    Nothing got lowered. People saying "FCC wants to lower broadband standards" are pushing literal Fake News.

    --
    "Not to mention all the idiots who use words like boxen."
    Anonymous Coward on Monday August 04, @06:49PM
  25. Re:Fake news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As it turns out, although it used to be 4/1, the FCC adopted 25/3 as the new definition on 29 January 2015.

    It sounds like you've been told half-truths. Yes, the FCC is planning to change the limit of what's considered "broadband" to 10/1. Yes, it was previously 4/1. But it is currently 25/3, so 10/1 is a significant downgrade.

  26. Re:Fake news. by RedK · · Score: 2

    They are not proposing lowering the limit to 10/1. FIXED broadband will remain defined as 25/3. They are proposing changing the MOBILE broadband limits to 10/1.

    In your 2016 doc, there was no defined limit for mobile broadband :

    but finds that the current record is insufficient to set an appropriate speed benchmark for mobile service.

    AKA : they are actually RAISING the limit from none to 10.

    How can you people link these documents and not even bother to read them ? Astounding.

    --
    "Not to mention all the idiots who use words like boxen."
    Anonymous Coward on Monday August 04, @06:49PM
  27. Frankly, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If T-Mobile would give me unlimited tethering at a competitive cost to Spectrum Time Warner that I currently have, I'd drop STW immediately.

  28. Time for a protest that actually makes a point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Google, and all other streaming and content providers should slow Ajit Pai and the other FCC Chairmen's speeds to 28.8kbps and let them see what life without broadband or Net Neutrality is really like.

  29. Great news everybody! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Chocolate Ration is increasing to 30 grams a week!

    But it actually had a history.

  30. Do it all the time by iamacat · · Score: 1

    Why bring second device on vacation or pay for hotel WiFi? E-mail, Photos, Netflix (which T-mobile currently includes), everything else works great. Can set up a hotspot if I need bigger screen/keyboard/etc. Using 1GB of data for 3 hours of emails/tweets seems insane, I had 500MB data pass stretch for a week on vacation. Sure, there is some convenience to faster/higher limit home WiFi, but we are talking about a costly government mandate here. Why prop up dying technology when gigabit LTE is around the corner? Also mandate is often for poor areas, and the poor can ill afford two plans and forced cable TV bundling by broadband companies. If you are living on modest means, best to stick to cell plan which you need anyway and make it stretch for all Internet needs.

    1. Re:Do it all the time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I live in a decent sized city (225,000) and the cell coverage where I live in town is shit. I would much rather have a fiber connection to my house.

  31. Re:Fake news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    And if they certify that mobile only is sufficient for the home, then the requirement of 25/3 becomes 10/1, because if you have 10/1 by mobile only, then all's fine.

    It's a really bad shell game they're trying to play, and there's no amount of turd polishing you can do to sell it better, except to the ignorant.

  32. Re:Fake news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Anything that pleases the president's ego is great, and if you can achieve it by merely redefining words, then it's even better. The FCC will make the USA great again without actually having to do anything!

  33. Re:Fake news. by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 1

    So if I have a "fixed" connection that is 10/1--which would not be considered broadband--and this goes through, I now am considered to have broadband.

    Sounds like the time I got AT&T upgraded me (for free!) from 3G to 4G. My connection wasn't any faster, but it now said "4G" on my phone instead of 3G.

  34. Re:Fake news. by RedK · · Score: 0

    So if I have a "fixed" connection that is 10/1--which would not be considered broadband--and this goes through, I now am considered to have broadband.

    No.

    If you have a FIXED connection (DSL, cable, fiber), which is not considered broadband, and this goes through, you still don't have broadband.

    They are not changing the FIXED part. They are defining MOBILE broadband as 10/1.

    And even worse : all this is still in CONSULTATION.

    --
    "Not to mention all the idiots who use words like boxen."
    Anonymous Coward on Monday August 04, @06:49PM
  35. Re:Fake news. by RedK · · Score: 1

    And if they certify that mobile only is sufficient for the home, then the requirement of 25/3 becomes 10/1, because if you have 10/1 by mobile only, then all's fine.

    It still won't change your cable/DSL/Fiber service. I don't think you understand quite what this applies to and what it'll change in your life.

    AKA : nothing will change. Except people trying to sell MOBILE broadband will have to give you 10/1 service to call it mobile broadband.

    --
    "Not to mention all the idiots who use words like boxen."
    Anonymous Coward on Monday August 04, @06:49PM
  36. Re:Fake news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Previous requirement for home internet was 25/3, because home internet meant fixed broadband.

    Now the FCC wants to say that if you have Mobile of 10/1, even if you don't have 25/3, that is sufficient for home internet.

    So you're arguing it's an increase because 10/1 is more than nothing, and those of us with common sense are arguing that 10/1 is less than 25/3, but with this new proposed rule change, 10/1 will now be considered 'acceptable', which previously required at least 25/3. You're arguing that because the method of delivery is changing, the new lower standard is not the same standard as the old standard, which is turd polishing.

    Stop turd polishing.

  37. Re:Fake news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So because they don't change the Fixed broadband speed, but allow a lower speed from a different method of delivery to be 'acceptable' for home internet(which previously only considered fixed broadband), you think that's not changing the benchmark?

    So, by that (dumb) standard, why aren't two kids, one sitting on the other's shoulders, not considered tall enough to ride a carnival roller coaster. Even though they're configuring themselves completely differently to circumvent the entire point of the limitation, they meet that 'standard', so they should be allowed to ride, amirite? /s

  38. Re:Fake news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    "It still won't change your cable/DSL/Fiber service. I don't think you understand quite what this applies to and what it'll change in your life."

    It will change the report to reflect that far fewer people do not have access to 'high speed internet'. So you move the goalpost, call it a touchdown, declare victory, and stop pushing ISPs to make REAL broadband internet available in rural or underserved areas.

    "AKA : nothing will change."

    Exactly. That's the point. The point is to make the report claim there's no problem, so nothing NEEDS to be changed. It would be like saying "Hey, we have lead level standards that are X(and aren't being met by many places, but now we're going to get our water from a different source, so the new higher lead level of Y that we're going to allow from this new source is now acceptable. Lead problem in the water SOLVED BIGLY!"

  39. Re:Fake news. by RedK · · Score: 1

    Now the FCC wants to say that if you have Mobile of 10/1, even if you don't have 25/3, that is sufficient for home internet.

    Quote the document where it adds mobile broadband as somehow sufficient for the home where it wasn't in prior years ?

    Because until then, you're just part of the FUD brigade.

    --
    "Not to mention all the idiots who use words like boxen."
    Anonymous Coward on Monday August 04, @06:49PM
  40. The Republican FCC won't care by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They didn't care about public sentiment on neutrality, they're certainly not going to care about broadband. They're in this for personal wealth. Progress is for progressives, not reactionaries. Money is the important thing here, and we're not talking about your money.

    1. Re:The Republican FCC won't care by kenh · · Score: 1

      They didn't care about public sentiment on neutrality, they're certainly not going to care about broadband.

      They are redefining what counts as broadband, they aren't putting an upper limit on performance.

      --
      Ken
  41. 10Mbps? I wish! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    I live in a major metropolitan area and I dream about 10Mbps speeds on my LTE4 phone. The tower congestion is the rate limiting factor here. If I want good LTE performance, I just need to drive to a rural area where I have a clear shot to the tower and just a few other users. This isn't hyperbole. I get better LTE performance (order of magnitude) off the coast of NJ or rural PA than I do in Washington, DC.

    Build more towers damn it!

  42. Re: Fake news. by orlanz · · Score: 2

    We aren't as Net backwards as you. I use anywhere from 300-600GB at home. And no, nothing illegal. I use cellular a lot too, up to ~4GB per month.

    Maybe one of these decades the US will realize how piss poor the last mile is here compared to equivalent countries.

    The broadband deployment definition was already pretty bad here and now it's no longer laughing matter, it's just sad.

  43. Whats the point? by hAckz0r · · Score: 1

    What we need to do is have both the FCC and Congress limited to 10Mbps for over a month! Wouldn't that be a riot if Russian/Ukranian/Saba hackers switched the BGP map for both FCC and Congress's carriers during that same period? I'm only dreaming of course...

    1. Re:Whats the point? by kenh · · Score: 1

      Exactly what horrors do you imagine will befall FCC staffers and Congress Critters when their HOME internet is limited to 10 Mb/sec?

      You realize this isn't a speed LIMIT, it's a target for the MINIMUM SPEED to qualify for broadband - right?

      --
      Ken
    2. Re: Whats the point? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Which means its the maximum many people can expect to receive. Anything above that minimum is obviously not mandatory.

  44. Good idea; lets stick with it! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    From http://nextcenturycities.org/mobile-only-challenge/:

    Pledge to spend one day in January 2018 accessing the internet only on your mobile device

    I tried that once. I realized that T-Mobile has some pretty good unlimited high-speed internet access, and I quit my cable internet proved, saving me $50 a month. It's great; I recommend everyone that has a competitive cellular plan make the switch.

  45. It absolutely is a replacement: Backhaul. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I agree so long as the carrier has as good or better back-haul than the local incumbents.

  46. Re: Fake news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You must have a good ad blocker on your phone to stay under 1Gb for a month of jacking off to Breitbart.

  47. Re:Fake news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Okay corporate shill, up is down and down is up.

    Welcome to Trumpistan.

    numbnuts

  48. Re: Fake news. by Bruinwar · · Score: 1

    My household uses an average of 800GB a month. If I cut ever get around to cutting the cable, that will go up.

    --
    SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT
  49. Re:#mobileonly by Bruinwar · · Score: 1

    Currently I am paying for (& seem to be actually be getting it!) 150Mbps. Capped at 1 terabyte, bastards. We've come close but not gone over, yet. I do not see cell service replacing it this year. Maybe in the future.

    --
    SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT
  50. Re:Fake news. by dryeo · · Score: 1

    I'm in Canada, where the government also wants everyone connected with broadband, ideally 50/10 connection but 5/1 in very rural areas and 3/1 in the far north. I'm rural, using dial-up until last Nov. Now on a fixed wireless 4G plan, which is probably partially government subsidized. My usage cap is 250 GBs a month (it would be 10 GB for the same price if I lived in town for the same $85 a month) and the 10-15/1-2 connection is plenty good enough for now, especially after suffering on dial-up for 20 odd years.
    Biggest problem I see is the over charges are high. Be much better if they just throttled it down to 64-128 kbs.

    --
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
  51. Re: Fake news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hmmmm, I think there's a logical fallacy for what you just did.

    Nice try tho. Creating fake rage seems to be the calling card of the right these days.

  52. Re: Fake news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Are you kidding? Read the fucking link and summary.

    It is saying that now 10/1 is going to be considered high speed for mobile. It used to be 25/3 for mobile and broadband/ They are trying to move the goalposts for high speed.

    Also, wireless IS not a replacement for fixed broadband. It seems like that is what they are trying to push for. Sonthey can say see you have high speed internet.

  53. Oh wait, you're serious? by kenh · · Score: 1

    "Pledge to spend one day in January 2018 accessing the Internet only on your mobile device to tell them that's not OK."

    To prove what? To accomplish what? How will the [FCC | ISP | Anyone] know what you did? How exactly does this influence the FCCs decision?

    This will be even less effective than Hashtag Activisim, like #BringBackOurGIrls - at least with hashtag activism you can see how many people support you.

    --
    Ken
  54. Just Like Fire Island by speedlaw · · Score: 1

    Fire Island, NY is a sand barrier island near NYC. It is covered with vacation homes, and is a nice place to spend a weekend on a beach. When a hurricane took out the existing wireline phone network, Verizon worked very hard to replace it with a cellular network. Same thing here. No messy union employees. No real estate issues. Just a tower put up by contract monkeys.

  55. My next line of code is: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    declare all_my_problems_fixed = true;

    Pai is a genius! /s

    Meanwhile, my work actually requires me to do something about the problems. Imagine that.

  56. Re:Fake news. by kenh · · Score: 1

    Yes, the FCC is planning to change the limit of what's considered "broadband" to 10/1. Yes, it was previously 4/1. But it is currently 25/3, so 10/1 is a significant downgrade.

    No it's not - the 25/3 Mb/sec standard stands, the FCC is setting a brand new definition for mobile access at 10/2 MB/sec.

    --
    Ken
  57. It absolutely is history. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Most here aren't old enough to even remember dial-up. Plus a lot of the techniques we used to cope with dial-up still apply.*

    *Or other slow connections like from boats and airplanes.

  58. Re:Fake news. by kenh · · Score: 1

    How can you people link these documents and not even bother to read them ? Astounding.

    Welcome to Slashdot, you're obviously new here...

    --
    Ken
  59. Re:Fake news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe your reading comprehension needs some help. The standard says that just mobile broadband doesn't count. What they want to do is to allow only mobile broadband to count as service to an area.

  60. Re:Fake news. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    you're confused. Before that was the definition of broadband for mobile... not to count an area being serviced by broadband. To be counted as having broadband internet access required a physical line, read no shitty data caps and reliability issues. Now they're saying mobile broadband should count because it's easier to move the goal posts than actually invest in infrastructure.

  61. Re:the majority of internet users already use mobi by StingRay02 · · Score: 1

    I have similar concerns as the OP. I've had days where I've used nothing but my LTE service, including tethering my laptop, and it wasn't terrible. This challenge seems like a good way to confuse the issue, rather than convince people the new standard is unacceptable.

    10Mbps might be acceptable for most uses, but all of the bullshit surrounding cellular data is not. A single day won't really reveal the true impact of making LTE the minimum standard.

  62. In some ways it makes sense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The future is going to be wireless. Wireless is cheaper to maintain. You have maybe hundreds of cell towers in a metro area that need maintenance, rather than tripple digit or more thousands of poles strung with aging cables. I would be very surprised if we wern't nearly 100% wireless for residential connections in the next 20 years.

    Even the cable companies see the writing on the wall, just look towards their investments in cellular and other wireless technology.

    5G is going to easily bring us multiple hundreds of megabits if not gigabit per second wireless. The writing is on the wall for Coax and ADSL. Fiber could compete, but it seems every time someone attempts a huge fiber roll out it fails. FIOS stopped expanding, Google Fiber stopped expanding. Wires/Fiber is too expensive with what looms on the horizon with wireless. If someone strung up fibers everywhere today they would probably never make back the cost of the infrastructure investment over the next quarter to half century

    1. Re:In some ways it makes sense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      a wired connection will always be better than a wireless connection.

    2. Re:In some ways it makes sense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Of course it will, but when it comes to residential connections it all comes down to what is the cheapest to deploy, maintain, and get you the quickest ROI.

      In the future, residential will likely go all wireless, with wired connections being dedicated to business use, with the same jacked up rates we see today for business connections

    3. Re:In some ways it makes sense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If the cellular providers can roll out 5G and provide connectivity similar to what we have today at half the cost, since their deploy and maintenance costs will be lower, you can bet that is what will ultimately win for residential use. Just like how cable pretty much killed ADSL which was technically superior.

  63. Re:#THING_hashtag by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fuck you, moderator. The summary clearly says "#MobileOnly_hashtag."

    This would have been modded up in 2000-2009 before idiots like you took over the site.

  64. Re:Fake news. by BlueStrat · · Score: 1

    It is fake news. 25/3 is for FIXED broadband. 10/1 is for MOBILE broadband.

    Nothing got lowered. People saying "FCC wants to lower broadband standards" are pushing literal Fake News.

    Next Slash-Click Story:

    Ajit Pai Turned Me Into A Newt!

    (Wot? I got better!)

    Strat

    --
    Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
  65. Re:Fake news. by MoarSauce123 · · Score: 1

    Since when is 4/1 ever considered broadband? This is like giving everyone in class an A and celebrating oneself as awesome teacher, no matter how dumb the students remain. Maybe Pai, Trump, and a few others went to such a class....

  66. Re: Fake news. by MoarSauce123 · · Score: 1

    Not only the last mile, but also that we pay 3-4 times as much for craptastic service compared to other countries.

  67. Re:Fake news. by MoarSauce123 · · Score: 1

    Moving the goal post as in this case is always bad. Declaring a bit better than dial-up service as broadband is nothing else than political gaming so that in a fe months the administration can claim they brought broadband to all of rural America. This plan is totally ignoring facts that in order to take part in the digital world folks will need big pipes. The fix here is municipal fiber, but for bizarre reasons that is illegal in most states.

  68. Re:Fake news. by MoarSauce123 · · Score: 1

    As voiced by others, as far as broadband is concerned, it ought not to matter what the transmission medium is. Compare it to HD TV, same quality and properties no matter if it comes over copper, fiber, or the air.

  69. Re:Fake news. by Duhavid · · Score: 2

    I know you are being sarcastic, but...

    That is exactly the spirit that leads to downfall.
    An example, in WWII, the Japanese believed that they were innately superior to others and that they would natural win out despite the logistical realities of their situation. ( I do note that most westerners, including America had a similar belief in their own superiority, one which took decades to tone down* despite the rude awakening that was the Pearl Harbor to Midway part of the Pacific campaign ).
    No one is innately great. It takes hard work, humility, clear thinking and real striving towards greatness to be great.
    That is what we and everyone else needs.

    * Yes, there is still racism in the US. It is not as bad as it was then. Yes, any racism is bad and I am not attempting to excuse it, but I would guess that if you gave any person a choice to live as a non-white person in America now versus then, they would choose now. Progress is good, continued progress is better yet.

    --
    emt 377 emt 4
  70. Fuck Ajit Pai by Nick · · Score: 1

    Fuck Ajit Pai

    --
    Fuck Ajit Pai
  71. Gross Conceptual Error being perpetrated by MercTech · · Score: 1

    If cellular packet data were sufficient speed, we would still be using dial up modems because that is all the speed you need. 10mbps cellula, with the packet lag and dropped packets, has throughput more like a 54 kBPS dialup modem and 3G (which most of the country has as a best signal) is like a 14,400 dialup modem. Yeah, you can get some email and stream low-res but you need to be on wifi to an actual broadband connection to do anything serious. When the FCC upped the definition of "broadband" from 12 Mbps to 25 Mbps who remembers the howls from the huge ISP companies because they couldn't market "cheapest hardware" as "broadband" for premium prices any more. Packet radio like cellular network data is wonderful for access in a semi remote area but pails in comparison to the throughput from an actual internet connection.

    --
    NRRPT/RCT
  72. This Policy Hurts Rural Areas the Most by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Most Cities and public housing already have speeds that exceed this 10/1 standard, what this does is make it so that companies are no longer made to try and provided/build infrastructure to areas where only 5/1 DSL options are available.

    Most the U.S.'s sub-poverty line population live in rural areas, and making another policy that reduces incentive for companies to provide infrastructure for them just stagnates those populations for an even longer period. There aren't many jobs in the Rural areas, and if you allow companies to say that cellar access is enough for them, you're going to make it even hard for potential businesses to start up there. Trying to run a business off a cellular hot spot will not meet today's needs.

    If I'm missing something, or there is gap in my logic, please inform me otherwise, but I honestly cannot tell how this helps any end user.

  73. Just Not Convinced the Challenge is Right by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Say this Challenge goes ahead and is a great success. Millions of citizens perform the challenge and post their results, and state specifically that they don't like the FCC reclassifying what broadband means.

    Do you think this will sway the FCC? Or the administration of the Big Giant Orange Head? They listen only to billionaires, corporate executives, and lobbyists. The majority of citizens already don't like current Administration and FCC policy initiatives concerning the internet.

    Cost the problematic people their jobs. Change policy by replacing leadership. That will change things, not marches in the streets that these corporatists just laugh at. The powers that be accuse the protesters of being violent, or radical, or UnAmerican. It's an oligarchy designed for the benefit of rich people.

  74. Ajit Pai Won't Listen by Zeekort · · Score: 1

    Even though Ajit Pai won't listen to them, maybe the next FCC chair can look into it after Trump leaves office?

  75. Flawed Logic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    OK, politicians like to be seen as loose, hip and friendly. That makes sense.

    However, Leno, Stewart & Colbert are comedians and comedy is their product and comfort zone. Also, every one of those has a history of bringing politicians and serious guests on their shows and having relatively serious conversations with them.

    So what was/would be wrong with Dan Quayle joking about increasing the size of a gallon (I don't know the history of that particular anecdote)? What's wrong was, Quayle had an image problem as a lightweight and unserious thinker. He needs to stay away from things that reinforce that image, or at least be very careful with those approaches. At least if you assume Quayle cares about his image, which seems a safe assumption.

    So, he can make a joke, but it has to be a clever joke. He can laugh at Leno making that joke (to avoid being seen as uptight) but maybe he then needs to tell some business or personal anecdote. He can even make a joke at his own expense so long as it isn't about him being "dumb".

    Also, the recent history of "Republican politicians say[ing] what is obviously a joke" suggests, maybe they are covering up mistakes by claiming they were joking. How can we know this? Statements have been made in non-comedic environments and no one was laughing. Statements have also been made by people not particularly known for being humorous.

    Suppose a guy in a bar says something offensive or off-putting to a woman, then claims it was a joke. Do you believe him or not? It's like that.

  76. Nope! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "The way folks here are reacting you'd think this was slower than dial-up!"

    No, we are reacting because we were promised Winning. Lowering standards is called Losing.