FCC Defines "Broadband" Internet To a Download Speed of 25Mbps

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has passed a vote to change the definition of "broadband" Internet to a download speed of 25Mbps, up from 4Mbps. The commission also tripled the baseline upload speed to 3Mbps, from 1Mbps.

The change came today after FCC Commissioner Tom Wheeler spoke in an FCC meeting. Wheeler was adamant about passing the speed change and expressed a desire for pushing Internet speeds to a new level in order to cope with the increasing demands on networks as Internet usage grows ever more demanding. "What is crystal clear to me is that the broadband speeds of yesteryear are woefully inadequate today and beyond," he said, according to Tom's Hardware.

 "We invented the Internet," added fellow FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. "We can do audacious things if we set big goals, and I think our new threshold, frankly, should be 100Mbps. I think anything short of that shortchanges our children, our future, and our new digital economy."

After the decision, ISPs who do not meet the voted baseline Internet Speed, will no longer qualify as having "broadband."

"When 80 percent of Americans can access 25[Mbps down]-3[Mbps up], that's a standard. We have a problem that 20 percent can't. We have a responsibility to that 20 percent," said Wheeler.

Hong Kong, which currently ranks first in Internet speed, has an average download speed of 57.07Mbps.