New FCC Should Seek 'Objective, Activity-Based' Broadband Definition, Academic Says

The new FCC should adopt an "objective, activity-based" broadband speed definition, said Daniel Lyons, a Boston College law professor and American Enterprise Institute scholar. Otherwise, the commission "is vulnerable to allegations that it may manipulate the benchmark for policy purposes," he wrote in a Friday blog post. He noted the agency in early 2015 raised its advanced telecom capability download benchmark from 4 Mbps to 25 Mbps, with Chairman Tom Wheeler calling it "table stakes" and citing the need to support multiple devices and 4K video. Dissenting Commissioner Ajit Pai said the standard was arbitrary and intended to help justify net neutrality rules, Lyons recounted. The minimum standard should be based on an assessment of what consumers need for "core activities" on a broadband network, Lyons said. "This list might include access to email, news, job boards, or digital voice service for easy access to public safety officials," he wrote. "Consistent with former Commissioner [Jessica] Rosenworcel’s work on the 'homework gap,' it might also include access to educational resources such as school intranets and associated multimedia applications." The FCC should calculate the speed needed to accomplish the activities, the professor said: An activity-based standard could change over time and facilitate broadband competition.