Following #MobileOnly Challenge, Pai Drops One Bad Proposal, Keeps Another

Following outcry from activists and lawmakers, FCC Chairman Ajai Pai dropped his radical proposal to lower the speed required for an internet connection to be considered broadband and conceded that cell phones are no substitute for wireline broadband.

Pai's proposal would have meant that people who live in areas where companies aren't providing true high-speed fiber or cable connections would have been considered by the FCC to be "adequately served" as long as they have cell phones. This change would have resulted in less investment in job-creating broadband networks.

To bring attention to Pai's proposal, CWA members and allies participated in the #MobileOnly Challenge, pledging to spend one day using only a mobile device, disconnected from wi-fi, to access the Internet and tell Pai about their experience.

The bad news is that Pai's proposed annual report on the progress of broadband deployment, which is mandated by the Communications Act, concludes that broadband is being deployed in a "reasonable and timely fashion." Tell that to the tens of millions of people still stuck without broadband access.

FCC Commissioners will vote on the annual report – and should object to the outrageous conclusion that broadband is being deployed in a reasonable and timely manner.

"More than 34 million people still lack access to broadband at the Commission’s 25/3 Mbps speed definition," CWA wrote in comments to FCC. "There are still too many school children who must sit on the library steps or go to McDonald’s for wi-fi access to do their homework."

Read more here.