Commenters: FCC Should Continue Asking Broader Questions in Section 706 Reports

Then-Commissioner Brendan Carr and former Republican Commissioner Nathan Simington dissented on the last report in March 2024, which concluded that broadband isn't deployed in a "reasonable and timely fashion," with about 24 million Americans lacking access to speeds of at least 100/20 Mbps (see 2403140050). Section 706 requires the commission to determine and report annually on “whether advanced telecommunications capability is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion.”

In comments posted this week, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society urged the FCC not to “abandon the precedent and practice of including a full array of universal service goals in this proceeding.” Deployment by itself “is not a full measure of the state of connectivity in the U.S.: affordability, adoption, availability, and equitable access are key elements in determining the extent of the digital divide.”

Benton's recent research found that “broadband adoption rates are slowing,” and “low-income households, older adults, and people living in rural America continue to lag in adoption of broadband services,” the group said. It found that 56% of households with annual incomes less than $25,000 had wireline broadband at home in 2023, compared with nearly 90% for households that earned $150,000 or more.

The American Library Association and the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition questioned a finding in the NOI that under U.S. Supreme Court precedent in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the FCC must not depart from the narrow language in the Telecom Act (see 2406280043). “Loper Bright is intended to apply to regulatory agencies in relation to decisions they make regarding the parties they regulate,” the groups said. The Section 706 report “is internal to the Commission, and thus we believe the agency has the authority to look at various aspects of the broadband landscape, not just those articulated in section 706.”

NTCA said the FCC should ask in the proceeding about user needs because determining whether advanced communications systems are being deployed “requires considering whether the capabilities being deployed today will meet evolving user needs, including not only needs that evolve within the annual Section 706 reporting cycle, but reasonably anticipated demands as well.” Just as NTCA members build networks “intended to last for at least a few decades, present-day broadband initiatives must incorporate forward-looking capacity planning, with capabilities that will adapt to growing demand and emerging technologies.”

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation agreed with the NOI that the FCC shouldn’t include aspirational goals for broadband speeds in the report. A service offering 19 Mbps upload speeds “can support four simultaneous video calls, more than an average household is likely to undertake,” the group said. “An FCC definition that assumes such a connection is not broadband is out of step with technical realities and will paint a falsely pessimistic vision of broadband deployment.”

ITIF noted that the bottleneck for many consumers is inside their homes. “Pushing for ever thicker pipes to the building only to have consumer experience limited by a poorly configured Wi-Fi network misses the mark.” The report also shouldn’t ignore “the fact that other barriers to universal broadband access are still significant.” According to NTIA data, the group said, the lack of available service “accounts for less than 3% of the digital divide,” while “lack of interest and affordability together account for 71%.”