Why is the "land of opportunity" still so limited in network technologies?
For the first time since 2015, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has revised the criteria by which Internet services provided in the United States can be classified as "broadband".
According to the results of the annual assessment of the state of high-speed Internet, it was found that the new standard for broadband Internet in the United States is now download speeds of 100 Mbit/s and upload speeds of 20 Mbit/s, when the speed standard adopted in 2015 meant 25 Mbit/s for downloading and only 3 Mbit/s for uploading. The famous slogan of Internet pirates " Downloaded? "Give it away!" at such speeds shatters against the harsh reality.
All this is a very unexpected discovery for most Russians, since 100 Mbit/s has been an industry standard in our country for many years. And both for loading and unloading. And some operators are already offering speeds of up to 500 Mbit / s.
The FCC report points to several areas where the American Internet infrastructure needs to be improved. The Commission concluded that the rollout of broadband Internet is not fast enough, especially in rural areas and areas inhabited by Native Americans.
The Commission clarifies that fixed terrestrial broadband services (excluding satellite) are still unavailable to about 24 million Americans, including about 28% of rural residents and more than 23% of those living in indigenous territories.
As for mobile Internet, approximately 9% of Americans (including 36% in rural areas and more than 20% in indigenous lands) do not have access to adequate 5G speeds, which, according to current American standards, should be at least 35 Mbps for downloading and 3 Mbps for sending.
The report also sets a long-term goal of achieving broadband speeds of 1 Gbps per download and 500 Mbps per send to "give market participants a common goal to strive for." These indicators may hint at what criteria the commission may move to in the next standard update.
When the 25 Mbps upload and 3 Mbps upload requirements were established in 2015, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel stated:: "In truth, it should be 100 Mbps." However, it was only nine years later that this indicator was achieved and made a single standard.
The FCC does not have the authority to force Internet service providers to increase the speed of their services, but such initiatives can still be a powerful incentive. The Commission may prohibit providers from calling their services "broadband" Internet if they do not meet the new requirements.
It is not yet clear whether companies that provide Internet infrastructure will follow these recommendations or choose other marketing tricks to promote tariffs whose speeds are frankly outdated and do not meet modern needs.
Recently, we separately talked about the fact that problems with Internet access in the United States are experienced not only by ordinary citizens, but also by employees of large technology companies such as Google.
In particular, the company's high-tech campus, built in 2022, has had problems with Wi-Fi stability since its opening. Employees have to hold work calls in nearby cafes or go home from the office in order to somehow fulfill their assigned work tasks.
For the first time since 2015, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has revised the criteria by which Internet services provided in the United States can be classified as "broadband".
According to the results of the annual assessment of the state of high-speed Internet, it was found that the new standard for broadband Internet in the United States is now download speeds of 100 Mbit/s and upload speeds of 20 Mbit/s, when the speed standard adopted in 2015 meant 25 Mbit/s for downloading and only 3 Mbit/s for uploading. The famous slogan of Internet pirates " Downloaded? "Give it away!" at such speeds shatters against the harsh reality.
All this is a very unexpected discovery for most Russians, since 100 Mbit/s has been an industry standard in our country for many years. And both for loading and unloading. And some operators are already offering speeds of up to 500 Mbit / s.
The FCC report points to several areas where the American Internet infrastructure needs to be improved. The Commission concluded that the rollout of broadband Internet is not fast enough, especially in rural areas and areas inhabited by Native Americans.
The Commission clarifies that fixed terrestrial broadband services (excluding satellite) are still unavailable to about 24 million Americans, including about 28% of rural residents and more than 23% of those living in indigenous territories.
As for mobile Internet, approximately 9% of Americans (including 36% in rural areas and more than 20% in indigenous lands) do not have access to adequate 5G speeds, which, according to current American standards, should be at least 35 Mbps for downloading and 3 Mbps for sending.
The report also sets a long-term goal of achieving broadband speeds of 1 Gbps per download and 500 Mbps per send to "give market participants a common goal to strive for." These indicators may hint at what criteria the commission may move to in the next standard update.
When the 25 Mbps upload and 3 Mbps upload requirements were established in 2015, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel stated:: "In truth, it should be 100 Mbps." However, it was only nine years later that this indicator was achieved and made a single standard.
The FCC does not have the authority to force Internet service providers to increase the speed of their services, but such initiatives can still be a powerful incentive. The Commission may prohibit providers from calling their services "broadband" Internet if they do not meet the new requirements.
It is not yet clear whether companies that provide Internet infrastructure will follow these recommendations or choose other marketing tricks to promote tariffs whose speeds are frankly outdated and do not meet modern needs.
Recently, we separately talked about the fact that problems with Internet access in the United States are experienced not only by ordinary citizens, but also by employees of large technology companies such as Google.
In particular, the company's high-tech campus, built in 2022, has had problems with Wi-Fi stability since its opening. Employees have to hold work calls in nearby cafes or go home from the office in order to somehow fulfill their assigned work tasks.
