FCC Proposal to Scale Back Broadband Standards Draws Fire
Rural co-ops press FCC for symmetrical 100 * 100 Mbps broadband standard
WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2025 – As it prepares its annual broadband deployment report, the Federal Communications Commission is confronting sharp divisions over whether to scale back long-term gigabit standards.
On Aug. 5, the FCC advanced Chairman Brendan Carr’s proposal to narrow the scope of its Section 706 inquiry, scrapping affordability and adoption measures and rolling back the 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps) * 500 Megabit per second (Mbps) long-term broadband benchmark set in 2024.
Now, rural cooperatives and equity groups have countered, telling the FCC it should raise – not lower – its standards, with some pressing for a symmetrical 100 Mbps upload * 100 Mbps download benchmark for fixed broadband to support economic development in rural regions.
The debate follows the FCC’s 2024 Section 706 report, when then-Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel raised the fixed broadband benchmark to 100 * 20 Mbps, set a long-term gigabit goal of 1 Gbps * 500 Mbps, and for the first time included metrics on affordability, adoption, and equitable access.
Now, with the commission proposing to walk back those many of those benchmarks and broader metrics, new comments published Tuesday urged the FCC not to lower the bar.
100 * 20 Mbps is no longer 'advanced', argues NRECA
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association warned that 100 * 20 Mbps was no longer “advanced” and pressed the Commission to adopt a 100 * 100 Mbps symmetrical benchmark, or at minimum begin reporting on symmetrical speeds. The group also urged the FCC to retain the 1 Gbps * 500 Mbps long-term goal.
NRECA said the FCC should not conclude LEO satellite provides “advanced” service without more record development, and urged the commission to include more specific metrics and analysis related to broadband service in rural areas in its next 706 report.
NTCA - the Rural Broadband Association struck a similar chord, urging the FCC to take a forward-looking approach as rural networks confront new demands.
The group, representing over 850 community-based telecommunications companies and cooperatives across rural America, pointed to rising subscriptions to gigabit services among its members and argued that benchmarks must reflect emerging use cases, such as artificial intelligence applications and precision agriculture.
While NTCA stopped short of naming a specific symmetrical tier, NTCA said the FCC must adopt standards that look beyond today’s 100 * 20 Mbps definition.
The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society sharpened the critique, warning that eliminating affordability and adoption measures from the inquiry would be both “bad policy as well as bad law.”
Benton said deployment alone was not a full measure of connectivity, particularly as millions of low-income and rural households remain unconnected in the wake of the Affordable Connectivity Program’s expiration.
The IRREGULATORS, a watchdog group comprised of telecom analysts, former regulators, and auditors focused on utility accountability, took a more strident tone. In their filing, the group blasted today’s FCC for creating “an appalling mess.”
“The chairman of the FCC has announced we don’t need 1 Gbps speeds,” the group wrote, accusing the FCC of instigating “a biased push to force customers onto inferior government subsidized wireless and satellite services.”
INCOMPAS, a trade association for competitive carriers, added that the FCC should continue tracking progress toward the 1 Gbps * 500 Mbps benchmark even if it chooses not to enshrine the goal in its Section 706 finding.
Industry groups lining up in support of Carr
Many industry groups, by contrast, lined up in support of Carr’s narrower approach.
USTelecom – The Broadband Association praised the rollback to the “plain language” of Section 706, arguing the FCC’s mandate was to assess whether broadband “is being deployed” in a reasonable and timely fashion. The group said affordability and adoption were outside the statute and cited the Supreme Court’s Loper Bright ruling to justify limiting the inquiry.
USTelecom, joined by the country’s largest wireless and cable interests CTIA, WISPA, NCTA, ACA Connects, as well as free-market think tank Free State Foundation, urged the FCC to maintain its current benchmark of 100/20 Mbps for fixed broadband service.
Collectively, these groups supported the FCC’s proposal to eliminate its long-term gigabit goals, and urged the commission to declare that broadband was indeed being deployed in a timely manner.
“The Commission’s [should] abolish without replacement, the long-term goal of 1000 * 500 Mbps,” WISPA wrote.
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation added that past gigabit-class benchmarks were “arbitrary” and biased toward fiber, urging the FCC to ground its analysis in consumer experience rather than throughput numbers. ITIF said fiber, fixed wireless, and satellites should all count toward deployment metrics in the report.
Another point of contention in the comments was whether satellite broadband should be considered “advanced telecommunications capability” under Section 706, and therefore included in the FCC’s official assessment of nationwide broadband deployment.
Several groups, including NRECA and Benton, warned that satellites have not yet proven capable of delivering truly advanced service. They pointed to persistent challenges with latency, capacity, and performance variability.
That position clashed with SpaceX’s filing, which argued its Starlink network already delivers high-speed, low-latency broadband to more than 2 million Americans and deserves to be recognized in the report.
Reply comments will be due Sept. 23; with the FCC expected to finalize its Section 706 findings in early 2026.
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