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Mobile wireless cell tower

Earlier this month, we covered an upcoming FCC meeting in which the federal agency planned to vote on redefining broadband coverage standards in the Us. Under the FCC'south proposed rules, wireless carriers with much lower speeds and vastly college prices would've as well counted as broadband providers for the purpose of deciding whether or not a rural or urban surface area was fairly served. The programme was heavily criticized for attempting to combine 2 dissimilar types of access that aren't comparable and the FCC is manifestly going to drop the endeavour.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai released a fact sail concerning the FCC's February meeting. It reads, in part (all emphasis original):

Mobile services are non full substitutes for fixed services—there are salient differences between the two technologies.
Both fixed and mobile services can enable access to information, entertainment, and employment options, but there are salient differences between the two. Beyond the most obvious distinction that mobile services permit user mobility, there are clear variations in consumer preferences and demands for fixed and mobile services.

The fact canvass also notes that the FCC volition maintain the 25/3 standard for wireline (also known every bit stock-still) broadband and would continue to monitor the deployment of said service.

Hammering the Investment Myth

In a argument released aslope the fact sheet, FCC Chairperson Ajit Pai continues to lie about the bear upon of cyberspace neutrality on the state of broadband investment in the Us. Pai writes:

The draft report indicates that the pace of both fixed and mobile broadband deployment declined dramatically in the ii years following the prior Commission'due south Championship 2 Order. However, the typhoon report likewise discussed how, over the form of the past year, the current Commission has taken steps to reduce barriers to infrastructure investment and promote competition in the broadband marketplace.

This is untrue. A year ago, the cablevision lobbying industry NCTA sent out a self-congratulatory article, proclaiming the rapid increase in U.s. broadband speeds, while congratulating the manufacture for a massive 90 percent decrease in the cost-per-megabit of service over the past decade.

A major written report from Free Press scoured quarterly reports, investment records, executive statements, and press releases from all major The states ISPs from 2022 to 2022 and found zero incidents of whatever ISP attributing a network investment change to internet neutrality.

ISP-Investment
In 16/24 cases, Us ISPS increased network spending. Total spending rose by 5.iii percent in 2022-2016 compared with 2022-2014. The ISPs that cut spending tend to be smaller facilities — Comcast increased its spend by 26.6 percent, Charter + TWC increased spending by 15 percentage, and Verizon increased 3.1 percent. Merely AT&T slightly reduced its network spending, and but by 0.6 pct.

The Free Press study steps through the various arguments for how net neutrality has supposedly led to lower investment rates and demolishes them with a combination of publicly available data and public statements from the companies themselves. I realize there are readers that volition run into bias in being willing to declare someone is deliberately spreading falsehoods. But that's what this is. All available evidence suggests that wireless ISPs and wireline providers both engage in cyclical periods of investment. This information was included in the FCC report in 2022 (Pai was appointed to the FCC in 2022), every bit detailed past Ars Technica.

The arguments used every bit justification for dismantling net neutrality were shoddy, bad-organized religion excuses peddled by those smart enough to know it. We're glad the FCC isn't throwing rural communities nether a bus by reclassifying mobile broadband as wireline-equivalent, simply that doesn't hateful the organization's other claims are credible.