CWA to FCC: Broadband is not being deployed in a timely and reasonable fashion

Broadband is not being deployed in a reasonable and timely fashion, CWA said in recent comments in the FCC’s 2020 706 proceeding. The 706 proceeding is the FCC’s annual inquiry into the state of broadband deployment.

According to the most recent Pew Research Center data available, 43 percent of African-Americans and 53 percent of Hispanics do not subscribe to broadband at home, in many cases because they cannot afford it. The cost of broadband remains a challenge for many households, as 55 percent of low-income households (annual earnings under $30,000) do not subscribe to broadband at home.

CWA urged the FCC to raise its broadband download speed benchmark to 100 Mbps, continue to find that mobile services are no substitute for fixed broadband, and do more to close the digital divide in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read CWA’s FCC Reply Comments here.

Links:

Reply Comments of Communications Workers of America (FCC, Oct. 5, 2020)