SOME LOSE PATIENCE OVER FCC SEEKING BROADBAND DEFINITION AGAIN

摘要

The National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates questioned the need for an FCC effort to define broadband for the national plan that the commission must write. "This comment is sought despite the fact that the Commission has twice sought comment on the definition of broadband in the last six months," the association told the FCC. It referred the commission to comments it has already previously on the question. Free Press suggested setting the bar high to "future-proof" the definition. It should require providing at least 5 Mbps of bandwidth in both directions "at all times, including peak-use times," at latencies "low enough to enable high-quality real time voice and video two- way communications." To qualify, the service must also be consistent with the FCC's 2005 Internet Policy Statement, and must be affordable, Free Press said. The Center for Democracy & Technology said broadband must be "defined and promoted in such a way as to ensure that its deployment will offer the full benefits of basic unrestricted Internet access, and not just narrower, purpose-built services which, although they may fulfill some specific public purposes, lack the robust access to diverse content and capacity for innovation that is the hallmark of the Internet."