FCC wants faster broadband speeds

The FCC has redefined the term "Broadband".

Describing the old measure as "dated and inadequate," three of the watchdog's five commissioners voted in favor the change-from the previous 4Mbps/1Mbps definition to a new definition of 25Mbps down and 3Mbps up.

The FCC will now be able to put pressure on cable companies to increase their speeds and expand their services across the country. The FCC's progress report into broadband roll out in America concludes that "broadband deployment in the United States – especially in rural areas – is failing to keep pace with today’s advanced, high-quality voice, data, graphics and video offerings."

As expected, the cable industry opposed the new definition: they argued that people simply didn't need 25Mbps and that arguments for increasing the speed used "hypothetical use cases" that "dramatically exaggerate the amount of bandwidth needed by the typical broadband user."