Defining the Right Broadband Rate for Tomorrow

By Juan Vela, Occam Networks

The definition of broadband has evolved over the past decade. To a consumer, broadband could be defined as faster access to the Internet for the purpose of streaming a movie on Netflix. To a telecommunications company, it could be defined as the last-mile infrastructure used to connect consumers and businesses to public and private data networks.

Whatever your definition may be, the U.S. government, in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Plan, has defined broadband in the absolute terms of bits per second. According to their recommendations, a minimum speed of 4 Mbps qualifies as broadband service for rural unserved markets, despite the fact that the average American citizen is already experiencing speeds of 2.5x that rate (according to Ookla, the global leader in broadband speed testing). Much controversy has surrounded the FCC’s definition, and rather than debate the timing or funding mechanisms needed to reach a minimum broadband rate, I’d like to focus on the contemporary applications that consumers utilize via broadband connections. I believe that it is those applications that should define minimum broadband speeds. 

As any recent visitor to Best Buy knows, it’s much easier to find an HD television than it is a standard-definition TV. HDTVs are now in 65 percent of U.S. homes, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. In fact, the average household now has 1.8 HDTVs and those consumers expect their service provider to offer HDTV as a service — essentially forcing providers to plan for 2-4 HDTV streams per home. And because consumers can often choose between competing service providers, even in rural areas, it’s reasonable to expect providers to offer HD television content in order to remain competitive. 

Acknowledging that providers – especially rural telephone companies – must offer HDTV services in order to remain viable in a competitive environment and assuming that, based on Occam’s work with service providers, an enjoyable HDTV viewing experience can require speeds up to 8 Mbps, the FCC’s baseline definition of broadband is already too slow and effectively ignores the trends we see in both viewing habits and consumer electronics.

Now, let’s say that providers only plan for a conservative growth in HDTVs and media-capable devices in the next few years and project that they will serve two HDTVs in their customers’ homes. At 8 Mbps per HD stream, that’s a minimum of 16 Mbps just for the television content. Couple that with average North American download rates of 10.8 Mbps and a service provider will need to provide a minimum of 26 Mbps to meet customer demand. 

One could argue that 26 Mbps might be enough, but any provider with wireline infrastructure assets will tell you that investment cycles are typically five to seven years. In other words, what gets put in the ground today must withstand the demand expected from consumers and devices over the next seven years.

Conservative planning says HDTVs will continue to gain adoption and other service providers, like satellite television providers, expect to support up to four TVs per home, so it’s easy to arrive at a basic level of service required to satisfy consumer and market requirements of the future. The basic formula of four HDTVs and an average high-speed Internet experience yields a 40+ Mbps floor that can satisfy short-term requirements.

Is 4 Mbps adequate for pushing e-mails and reading news articles?  Absolutely, but that ignores the market and consumer trends providers face every day. What’s the basic definition of broadband?  My math says it should be at least 40 Mbps.

With nearly 15 years experience in last mile access technologies, Juan is responsible for development of new product and market strategies for Occam Networks. Prior to joining Occam, he split his time between telecom service providers and broadband equipment suppliers, holding a variety of positions.