Don't Substitute Mobile for Fixed Broadband, CWA Asks FCC; Others Back Keeping 25/3
Mobile service isn't a functional substitute for fixed broadband, at least not yet, the Communications Workers of America answered an FCC notice of inquiry (see 1910230065) for its annual report on deployment of advanced telecom services. Comments posted through Tuesday…
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in docket 19-285. "Mobile broadband cannot deliver performance as consistent as wireline services," said CWA. It said "5G technology has the potential to provide high-speed Internet, [but] it is premature to consider it a full substitute for wired broadband today." Just because some users rely on a mobile device to stream video, do online research or seek employment when no fixed broadband alternative is available "does not mean that mobile and fixed services are now suddenly functional equivalents," the Wireless ISP Association said. USTelecom (here) and NCTA (here) back the FCC proposal to retain 25/3 Mbps for fixed download and uploads. CTA wants "the prompt and dependable expansion of next-generation broadband networks" to support the IoT, and calls for widespread deployment of mobile broadband networks. "The possibility that the FCC may consider mobile internet access as part of meeting universal deployment of advanced telecommunications capability is troubling because the capabilities of mobile service do not yet meet those of wired broadband access and many services are subject to data caps, which disproportionately hurt consumers with lower incomes," said the American Library Association. "The record is clear," Public Knowledge, Common Cause and Next Century Cities said: "Mobile and fixed broadband continue to be complementary services and are not substitutes for each other." PK and co-signers want the benchmark increased to 100 Mbps downstream.