RLECs Say Satellite Broadband Hampered by Latency, Capacity Constraints
Rural telcos said satellite broadband "is slower and more expensive than the worst broadband provided by landline services" in most urban and many rural areas. FCC data confirmed "satellite latency is 20 times greater" than "typical terrestrial broadband services," said…
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a filing Wednesday in docket 10-90 by Great Plains Communications, Consolidated Companies of Nebraska, Vantage Point Solutions and former Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth on a meeting with an aide to Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. They said geostationary satellite latency cannot be improved. "Monthly capacity constraints placed on a customer could be exhausted in only a few hours of heavy usage," the filing said. "Satellite broadband is not well positioned to meet the current and future consumer demands for critical services such as eHealth, distance education, and many business services." The Satellite Industry Association touted satellite broadband as providing robust data speeds able to "scale more quickly and efficiently than terrestrial networks" (see 1709200042).