FCC asks: What is 'broadband' anyway?

August 21, 2009

Settling on a definition of the term broadband could mean a lot to internet users who may not know exactly what it is they are getting when internet service providers tout the latest products offering broadband speeds.

That's the position of the Federal Communications Commission, which is requesting input from consumers, researchers, engineers and other stakeholders to help the regulatory agency settle on a definition as it prepares a National Broadband Plan.

In many cases, the broadband internet speeds advertised by ISPs promising "up to" a certain level are no guarantee that speeds actually attain that level, the FCC's Carlos Kirjner writes on the FCC blog Blogband.

"Both OfCom, which is the communications regulator in the UK, and Akamai have published studies based on meaningful numbers of end-user samples that show large the difference between advertised and actual rates," Kirjner said in the post.

The idea is to figure out how to measure things like how much it would cost the country to expand broadband and to give consumers "a clear and accurate view of what they are getting for their money," Kirjner said.

Search Broadband Services By Company/Provider

Learn More About Types of Broadband Service