One of the key issues regarding broadband deployment is whether Americans are getting access to broadband that is “fast enough” compared to other countries.  Several commentators have suggested that Americans need faster broadband connections and they have advocated the creation of new “speed tiers” via the surveys done on the broadband market by the Federal Communications Commission.  Somehow, it is felt, demanding new reporting on “speed tiers” is supposed to magically result in faster broadband networks.

 

We have chosen in the U. S. to rely on markets and competition to both stimulate investment and provide consumers with more choices and new services.   A look at the data demonstrates that as in all competitive markets, consumers are seeing the development of new options, including faster speeds.  Markets are working to care of the needs consumers have for ever faster broadband.  We don’t need new reports to somehow “compel” this result.

For example, the FCC has been reporting for a couple of years now on the speeds and technologies available to consumers.   It is very evident, looking at the results of these reports, that Americans are “moving up the speed chain” and getting access to faster and faster broadband connections.   In the June, 2005 report, 23 million Americans had signed up for broadband connections that operated at 2.5 megabits to 10 megabits “in the faster direction” (in most cases, broadband connections have typically operated at faster speeds in the downstream direction as opposed to upstream).  That was more than half of all broadband connections in the U. S. at that time.

 

In June of 2006, that number had grown to close to 30 million Americans and another 2.2 million Americans had connections operating at 10 megabits to 25 megabits.  Clearly, Americans are getting access to faster and faster speeds and the market is responding to their needs.

 

Verizon’s own quarterly report just released demonstrates this as well.  The company offers two basic DSL speeds – 768 kilobits and 3 megabits.   In this most recent quarter, it appears that about 22 percent of the new customers signing up for our FiOS fiber to the home service – which operates at speeds ranging from 5 megabits to in some places 50 megabits – were former DSL customers.  We are happy they stayed with us but it appears they wanted to move up the speed chain too.

 

The FCC and Congress are both looking at ways to improve broadband deployment and a key question is what data we need to have in order to measure our progress.  I believe that the FCC already has useful data on issues like broadband speeds and with regard to the continuing growth in demand for faster speeds.   We don’t need more reporting on the broadband market.  We do need a strong focus on identifying exactly where broadband deployment is lacking.   We believe the Connect Kentucky model is the right approach to help us fill in the “holes” we have today regarding broadband deployment.  The markets are clearly already working in many areas to both provide more choice and satisfy consumer demand for more speed.