Ohio Valley Politics

It’s been a long time coming, but the FCC has finally (and unanimously) voted for several key changes to the way we collect information on broadband internet coverage.

Among the changes made:

• Raising the FCC’s definition of “high speed” Internet from a sluggish 200 Kbps to 768 Kbps.
• Requiring the reporting of both download and upload speeds.
• Creating more refined tiers of Internet speeds, as opposed to the current use of broad categories that often misrepresent people’s actual speeds.
• Requiring service providers to report more detailed connection speed data at the census-block level, instead of the zip code level.

I heard each of these concerns mentioned last year at Rep. Zack Space’s “Connect Appalachia” summits and it’s really great to see that these concerns have finally been addressed. With the information gathered under these new reporting standards we’ll be able to more accurately assess the state of broadband internet in the country and act accordingly.

On a side note, I’ve recently traded in my dial-up connection for a much faster satellite option. After using it for about a week I’ve only affirmed my belief that satellite internet should not be viewed as a long term solution for rural broadband in it’s current form. But that’s a whole other post.

Now I’ve got a small favor to ask of everyone. Below is a small box that will test you’re internet connection and send the results back to SpeedMatters.org, an organization pushing for national broadband. Every year they take this data and put together a very informative report on the spread of broadband for each state, including a map showing average connection speed in each area. Please consider taking it.