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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.
"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.
The problem with mobile isn't typically the speeds. It's the monthly bandwidth limits.
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
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
As soon as you move away from an interstate a mile or two it drops fast
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.
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?
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.
It seems to me that the FCC has been lowering its standards ever since Ajit took over control. Nothing new here.
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?
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
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!
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.
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
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