If you’re in the USA, it could be you’ve just lost your broadband connection. Why? The FCC just changed the definition of “broadband” by raising the minimum download speed from 4Mbps to 25Mbps and the minimum upload speed from 1Mbps to 3Mbps. Anything slower isn’t considered broadband anymore. 4% of US Internet users have connections slower than 4Mbps, and the new definition adds another 13% of users with sub-broadband speeds. That’s 55 million Americans without broadband.
How does the US compare with other countries when it comes to average broadband speed? We’re tied with Bulgaria at number 25, way slower than superpowers like Moldova, Andorra and Estonia.
More:
“The FCC has changed the definition of broadband,” Micah Singleton, The Verge
“FCC raises threshold for high-speed internet as service providers cry foul,”Amanda Holpuch, The Guardian
“FCC more than quintuples the legal definition of ‘broadband,'” Chris Velazco, Engadget
“The FCC Just Redefined Broadband So Expect Faster Internet,” Adam Clark Estes, Gizmodo
“Tons of AT&T and Verizon customers may no longer have ‘broadband’ tomorrow,” Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica
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