FCC head wants to boost ‘broadband’ standard to 100Mbps nationwide

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel asked her colleagues to consider increasing the minimum broadband standard of 25Mbps to at least 100Mbps — and possibly 1Gbps. The change could help people working from remote locations.

The chair of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wants redefine “broadband” Internet as being capable of at least 100 megabits per second (or Mbps) download and 20Mbps upload speeds.

A change in the current, seven-year-old standard for broadband would almost certainly spur networking companies to upgrade equipment to meet the new benchmark. And it would increase data download and upload capacities across the internet — a key upgrade for remote and hybrid workers, the ranks of which swelled dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Currently, broadband is defined as networks offering a minimum of 25Mbps download and 3Mbps upload speeds.

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