Thanks to Becky LaPlant for the heads up on the recent FCC report on Internet Access Services: Status of December 1, 2009. Here are some of the results…

At year-end 2009, 58% of reportable connections (or 76,594,000 connections) were slower than 3 mbps in the downstream direction, 12% (or 16,172,000 connections) were at least 3 mbps in the downstream direction but slower than 6 mbps, and 30% (or 40,382,000 connections) were at least 6 mbps in the downstream direction. [see chart at right]

Housed in the research is an intersting dicussion on broadband definition – highlighted by a recent post in Engadget. Here’s a quick look at what the report purports to use…

At present, the Form 477 program categorizes reportable connections into 72 speed tiers defined by eight ranges of downstream speed and nine ranges of upstream speed. In this overview discussion, we organize the extensive information collected for December 2009 into three groups of downstream speeds and three groups of upstream speeds. For the breakpoints between these groups, we use the Form 477-defined breakpoints that the Commission discussed as potential proxies for the broadband availability benchmark adopted in the Sixth Broadband Deployment Report.5 These Form 477-defined breakpoints are 3 mbps and 6 mbps for downstream speeds and 768 kbps and 1.5 mbps for upstream speeds.

This is the second time we’ve seen the FCC allude to a new definition of broadband in a report. The first time was last summer and their 706 Report. Here’s what they said about the change then…

As an alternative benchmark for this year’s report, and given that this year’s inquiry was conducted in conjunction with the National Broadband Plan proceeding, we find it appropriate and reasonable to adopt instead the minimum speed threshold of the national broadband availability target proposed in the National Broadband Plan. The National Broadband Plan recommends as a national broadband availability target that every household in America have access to affordable broadband service offering actual download (i.e., to the customer) speeds of at least 4 Mbps and actual upload (i.e., from the customer) speeds of at least 1 Mbps.[1] This target was derived from analysis of user behavior, demands this usage places on the network, and recent experience in network evolution.[2] It is the minimum speed required to stream a high-quality —even if not high-definition—video while leaving sufficient bandwidth for basic web browsing and e-mail, a common mode of broadband usage today that comports directly with section 706’s definition of advanced telecommunications capability.

So we’ve got 3 Mpbs and 4 Mbpbs.

The FCC has some Consumer Fact Sheets that offer an even broader definition…

What Is Broadband?

Broadband or high-speed Internet access allows users to access the Internet and Internet-related services at significantly higher speeds than those available through “dial-up” Internet access services. Broadband speeds vary significantly depending on the particular type and level of service ordered and may range from as low as 200 kilobits per second (kbps), or 200,000 bits per second, to six megabits per second (Mbps), or 6,000,000 bits per second. Some recent offerings even include 50 to 100 Mbps. Broadband services for residential consumers typically provide faster downstream speeds (from the Internet to your computer) than upstream speeds (from your computer to the Internet

Sometimes it feels like splitting hairs except that as we’ve seen that funding (especially federal funding) may focus on unserved and underserved areas – so the defintion of broadband becomes important.