Larry Cohen's letter to the FCC on data collection Internet speeds
On February 29, 2008 CWA's president,Larry Cohen, wrote a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin on the importance of improving data collection on upload and download speeds. As individuals and businesses more and more are relying on high speed Internet for audio and visual purposes, maintaining high upload and download speeds is vital. High speed Internet providers understand the importance of truly high speed networks such as AT&T's U-Verse and Verizon's FiOS, and so should the FCC.
From the letter:
“The commission should begin collecting data on upload speeds to provide a baseline that will allow providers, consumers, and policy makers the ability to identify just what is and is not available. This baseline will become ever more important as providers begin to offer higher levels of upload speeds and broadband applications increasingly rely on upload speeds.”
This is nothing new. Already the Public Utilities Commission of California has adopted a 3 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload speed standard, which is higher than the average speed in most parts of the U.S. CWA recommends collecting data on a range of speeds, including a 10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload speed. While speeds in this range are not yet widely available, providers are beginning to provide them and it is critical that the FCC be able to track where and to what extent these new networks are being deployed.
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