President Cohen takes the SpeedMatters Message to the Hill

Today, CWA President Larry Cohen took the case for universal high speed internet access to the U.S. Congress. He testified before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, which is chaired by Rep. Edward Markey, who understands the importance of high speed internet.

Cohen spoke in support of a discussion draft of the Broadband Census of America Act. This legislation would be a significant first step in bringing high speed internet access to every American. It focuses on gathering data about the current state of high speed internet access in the U.S. As Larry Cohen told Congress,

Unfortunately, we don’t know the full extent of our problem because our data is so poor. We don’t know where high-speed networks are deployed, how many households and small businesses connect to the Internet, at what speed, and how much they pay. Without this information, we can’t craft good policy solutions. So we continue to fall farther behind.

As part of his testimony, Cohen presented results from the SpeedMatters speed test.

...the average download speed was 1.9 megabits per second. At this rate, it would take an hour and a half to download a movie. This average U.S. download speed compares to 61 megabits per second in Japan, 45 megabits per second in South Korea, 18 megabits per second in Sweden, 17 megabits per second in France, and 7 megabits per second in Canada.

While the speed test data is interesting, it is not comprehensive.  The Broadband Census of America Act provides the foundation we need to move forward on an effective policy solution to bridge the digital divide and bring high speed Internet access to all Americans.

The provisions of the bill that CWA supports include

• upgrading the FCC definition of "high speed" to at least 2 megabits per second download and 1 mbps upload;
• requiring the FCC to collect more detailed high speed internet deployment data down to zip code + 4, as opposed to just zip code, which can cover many miles in rural areas;
• creating a map of current nationwide high speed internet access that is available to the public and also protects proprietary information;
• providing grants for states to implement their own mapping programs, modeled after the innovative Connect Kentucky program; and
• requiring the FCC to survey the price, availability, and speed of high speed internet access.

CWA's president also discussed the Speed Matters Speed Test, describing the results of the more than 70,000 people who have taken it as "deeply troubling." The average download speed was 1.9 mbps, which compares to 61 mbps in Japan, 45 mbps in South Korea, 18 mbps in Sweden, 17 mbps in France, and 7 mbps in Canada.

What's more, the vast majority of Speed Test-takers had cable or DSL connections. The large portion of Americans who must rely on dial-up did not take the test because it took too long. So the actual average speed in the U.S. is considerably lower.

Cohen had this to say in conclusion:

Mr. Chairman, Speed Matters on the Internet. It determines what is possible; whether we will have the 21st century networks we need to grow jobs and our economy, and whether we will be able to support innovations in telemedicine, education, public safety, and public services to improve our lives and communities.

Testimony of Larry Cohen to the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet

The Slow Path to High Speed (Speed Matters)

High Speed in the Blue Grass (Speed Matters)

Speed Matters Speed Test