NY’s $15 Internet Bill, Benton On Measures For Broadband Availability, T-Mobile Tops Availability In 45 Cities

April 19, 2021—Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York on Monday signed a bill into law that would require internet service providers to provide basic $15/month “high-speed” internet plans for the citizens of NY.

In correspondence with Cuomo’s office, The Verge reported that ISPs must be able to provide either 25 Megabits per second or their existing low-income speed tier—whichever is greater—for $15.

These speeds are not considered by many to be sufficient, however, amid calls for the FCC to redefine “high-speed.” Though organizations have adopted different standards, the FCC has defined it as 25 Mbps download and three Mbps upload.

In an open letter to the FCC, Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Ohio, Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-West Virginia, called on the FCC to apply a more rigid standard, raising the high-speed internet definition to meet the increased demands of modern internet operation.

“Our goal for new deployment should be symmetrical speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps), allowing for limited variation when dictated by geography, topography, or unreasonable cost,” the letter says. The bipartisan letter pays special attention to rural communities.

As it stands now, according to NY Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, the average cost of internet for New Yorkers is $50 per month.

Benton Institute calls for measures for broadband availability, adoption

The Benton Institute is calling for measures, including performance standards, better mapping, and education efforts for broadband availability and adoption.

In an edition last week of the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society’s weekly digest, Kevin Taglang said broadband availability can be tackled with a series of performance standards to determine underserved regions that should receive additional investment; better mapping, the elimination of the Eligible Telecommunications Carrier requirements; and a new series of subsidy auctions.

Taglang said adoption comes from better affordability and knowledge. Consumers must be able to afford internet access and understand how to use the tools and services that they have. He suggested improvements to the LifelineMobile program to further subsidize mobile, affordable broadband services, as well as changes to LifelineHome, which would provide various broadband services and education to low-income and unemployed people.

T-Mobile wins availability, but AT&T faster

T-Mobile came out on top among its large rivals for 5G availability in 45 cities, according to a study of internet coverage for the first half of 2021. RootMetrics compared AT&T’s, T-Mobile’s, and Verizon’s capabilities.

RootMetrics largely attributed this to T-Mobile’s rapid advance in the first half of 2021, expanding its use of mid-band spectrum real estate and covering every city tested, compared to AT&T’s 44 cities, and Verizon’s 43. T-Mobile, in its proposal to merge with Sprint a couple of years ago, argued that the combined entity would better compete in deploying 5G.

Though beaten out by T-Mobile in terms of overall coverage, AT&T won out on delivering the fastest average internet speeds recorded. Out of all the cities tested, AT&T had the fastest speeds in 14 cities, compared to T-Mobile’s six and Verizon’s three.

As far as reliability was concerned, AT&T and Verizon were tied for the most reliable network.