Broadband Services Compared in Comments to FCC on Communications Market Report
Some industry groups said mobile and fixed broadband are considered complementary, not substitute services, in docket 20-60 comments this week for the FCC's communications market competitiveness report to Congress. Measuring available broadband access must be done by looking at both…
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fixed and mobile service availability, Incompas said, criticizing using form 477 data for measurement and saying broadband services should be counted only if physically available. It also urged a separate assessment of business data services. NTCA said universal support in rural areas should target both fixed and mobile networks. Policies often protect incumbents from new competition, an example being Communications Act Section 224 -- granting nondiscriminatory access to investor-owned utility poles -- not covering providers that aren't carriers or cable ISPs, said Google Fiber. It said state laws barring or limiting municipal broadband mean new entrants can't negotiate public-private partnerships or use those muni open access networks. New entrants that aren't telecom carriers or video programming providers with a state or local franchise also have difficulty getting access to public rights of way, it said. Rural Digital Opportunity Fund rules need to be technology neutral and satellite broadband shouldn't be blocked from competing for high-cost customers, Hughes said.