FCC eliminates gigabit broadband speed goal, citing technological neutrality concerns

FCC Abolishes Gigabit Speed Goal

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently eliminated the gigabit speed goal for broadband, a target previously set during the Biden administration. This decision was finalized on August 14 in the FCC's latest broadband deployment report, which is mandated by Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act.

Reasoning for the Change

The FCC stated that the gigabit speed goal was not "technologically neutral," implying it was unfair to slower technologies. Republican Brendan Carr, the current FCC chairman, had proposed abolishing this long-term goal last year. The FCC's order explicitly stated that a long-term goal is not mentioned in Section 706 and could violate the obligation to conduct analysis in a technologically neutral manner, also noting the impossibility of predicting future technological developments and consumer preferences.

Impact on Slower Technologies

The FCC had previously suggested that the gigabit goal might be "unreasonably prejudicial" to technologies such as satellite and fixed wireless, which do not currently support such speeds. Industry groups like NCTA (cable) and CTIA (wireless) submitted comments supporting the abolition of the long-term goal. However, the FCC clarified that the goal was not eliminated solely to benefit providers of slower technology.

Current Broadband Benchmarks

In 2024, the FCC raised its broadband benchmark to 100Mbps downstream and 20Mbps upstream. This new standard is now used to assess whether broadband deployment in the US is considered reasonable and timely. The previous long-term goal was 1Gbps download speeds paired with 500Mbps upload speeds, intended as a guidepost for evaluating deployment efforts.