Broadband speed disclosures can be quite confusing, especially for users who are not necessarily tech savvy, that’s why the FCC is calling for the standardization of broadband speeds by all ISPs.
The FCC’s major concern is that the definition of “performance” is vague, allowing company’s to create their own standards, thereby marketing products as superior, when in fact the performance of those services may be less than stellar. In fact the word “broadband” is often used for services that offer slower than FCC termed speeds.
In a public notice the FCC writes:
“Some broadband providers advertise that their offerings support certain applications, but consumers lack standardized tools to determine which speeds and other features they need for a range of services,” while adding, “The lack of such information hampers consumers’ ability to compare services offered by and among broadband providers.”
While the FCC has not stated what type of disclosures they would require, they are asking consumers and other agencies to help them define how internet speeds can be advertised to consumers.
Currently the FCC has raised broadband terminology to 4 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream, a number most users reading this article were probably unaware of, mostly because as stated there is currently no standardization.
