Wireline, it's the real thing.
That is the message Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai shared today with fellow commissioners in the draft 2018 Broadband Deployment Report. In addition, the report finds that the definition of fixed broadband service should remain: 25Mbit/s download and 3Mbit/s upload.
"The draft report also concludes that mobile broadband service is not a full substitute for fixed service. Instead, it notes there are differences between the two technologies, including clear variations in consumer preferences and demands," Pai wrote. "As a result, the draft report evaluates progress in deploying fixed broadband service as well as progress in deploying mobile broadband service and takes a holistic approach to evaluating the deployment of these services."
That was good news to several on Twitter who praised the status quo.
"I think this is a wise decision by the FCC from what I am seeing just now," posted Christopher Mitchell, director of the Community Broadband Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.
When Pai floated the idea of changing the definition of broadband to include mobile, many consumers were upset -- and vocal. Social media erupted with a #MobileOnly hashtag that people used to demonstrate their frustration at connecting -- or trying to connect -- to gaming, video streaming or other large file applications via their smartphones. (See FCC to Shrink Digital Divide – Without Expanding Broadband and Broadband Downgrade: How the FCC Is Failing the Nation )
Perhaps Pai (or family members) tried the mobile-only experiment too?
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— Alison Diana, Editor, Broadband World News. Follow us on Twitter or @alisoncdiana.
