Don't Mandate Symmetrical Speeds: AT&T, NCTA
Defining broadband based on symmetrical speeds could lead to "some areas being unnecessarily overbuilt while leaving fewer dollars to support areas in greater need," blogged Joan Marsh, AT&T executive vice president-federal regulatory. "Accurately defining unserved locations is essential to efficiently…
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targeting subsidy dollars to those areas most in need of connectivity, including sparsely populated areas where there are currently no fixed broadband solutions at all," Marsh said Friday. Flexibility is necessary in the next generation of fixed wireless technologies, she said, because "wireless networks are not built to deliver symmetrical speeds, so any mandate around symmetrical performance could undermine delivery." NCTA expressed similar concerns earlier this month. The cable group said symmetrical speeds are "attractive on paper, but the idea that symmetry is required as a minimum standard for receiving public support is incongruous with the reality of how customers use broadband and the bandwidth needs of real-world applications."