ACA, INCOMPAS: Don’t Include Satellite in Broadband Deployment Analysis

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9, 2024 – Competitive ISPs told federal regulators to leave satellite out of their annual assessment of broadband deployment, but disagreed on whether to count fixed wireless.

“While much progress has been made in deployment and adoption with fixed wireless and satellite services, especially in hard-to-reach rural areas, adoption of these services are still relatively low,” INCOMPAS, which represents major software companies and small fiber broadband providers, told the Federal Communications Commission. 

The group argued the FCC should collect data on the services, but not factor it into the evaluation of broadband deployment: “For the 706 Report next year, it makes sense for the Commission to continue to analyze these services separately in its inquiry of broadband deployment as not to overstate current competitive options available in the market as viewed by consumers today.”

The agency puts together an annual report on the state of broadband deployment in the U.S. called the 706 report. Its main purpose is to issue a finding on whether “advanced telecommunications capability” – fixed and mobile broadband – is being deployed in a “reasonable and timely fashion.”

Last year, the FCC found the answer was no, arguing the number of people without its minimum definition of broadband service – the agency counted 24 million at the time – wasn’t shrinking fast enough. The two Republican commissioners and ISPs argued in favor of finding that deployment was happening reasonably quickly. This year, again, ISPs unanimously say the agency should reach an affirmative finding.

The agency also did separate analyses last year, one including fixed wireless broadband – provided with excess 5G capacity – and one excluding it. The FCC said in August that it plans to include fixed wireless in a single analysis this year, citing a 5.5 percent penetration rate for the service. It left open the question of including satellite broadband, asking for input on whether the agency should change its past stance of excluding the technology because of capacity concerns.

ACA Connects, another small and mid-size provider trade group, argued in favor of including fixed wireless.

“An examination of recent marketplace trends reveals that consumers view licensed fixed wireless as a relatively close substitute for ‘traditional’ fixed broadband services,” the group wrote in comments, “and so the Commission should take it into account in examining deployment data for fixed broadband.”

The group agreed with INCOMPAS that satellite should be excluded from the evaluation, saying that it “acknowledge[d]” the performance improvements from newer low-earth orbit satellites, but still considered it “premature” to include.

Like it did last year, the conservative Free State Foundation urged the commission to consider satellite, calling the technology “increasingly capable of meeting the Commission’s benchmarks for broadband service.”