The U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday proposed changing the definition of high-speed Internet to require download speeds of 10 megabits per second (Mbps) or higher to qualify as broadband. The commission currently defines broadband, or high-speed Internet, as 4 Mbps download speed and 1 Mbps upload speed. The agency will seek public comment on whether those threshold connection speeds should be increased. In a “notice of inquiry” released on Tuesday, the FCC suggested that download speeds might need to be 10 Mbps to qualify as broadband and asked whether the minimum upload speed rate should also be higher. U.S. consumers are increasingly using the Web to stream music and videos, or for interactive services and applications, that continue to demand faster speeds.
