Industry Clashes on Proposed Broadband Benchmarks

OTI’s filing to the FCC regarding telecom capabilities deployment was mentioned in a Communications Daily article on proposed broadband benchmarks, with OTI’s filing backing the adoption of symmetrical speeds.

The FCC's definition of advanced telecommunications capability "can no longer include what Congress has deemed underserved," said the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. The group urged the commission to adopt "aspirational speeds as it did in 2015." The FCC should also "evaluate the availability of broadband networks that permit consumers to originate and receive highly developed or progressive services," the group said. The Fiber Broadband Association agreed and said a symmetric benchmark reflecting "market-based" speeds should be adopted. New America’s Open Technology Institute also backed adopting symmetrical speeds "in response to evolving technological demands, heightened by the COVID-19 reliance on significant upload bandwidth."