About 80 percent of Americans have access to a wired broadband connection, yet many have only one option when it comes to their broadband provider.
"Meaningful competition for high-speed wired broadband is lacking and Americans need more competitive choices for faster and better Internet connections," said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in a speech at business incubator 1776 in Washington D.C. on Sept. 4.
Wheeler outlined four policy goals to boost competition that will drive "innovation, investment, and consumer and economic benefits." The FCC will protect competition where it exists and create it where it doesn't.
It will also promote the deployment of more broadband, such as in rural areas, and then create competition once it's installed. Consumers in urban areas are three times more likely to have access to high-speed broadband than those in rural areas.
Wheeler cited a need for higher internet speed in healthcare facilties and in classrooms. He claims it is "essential" for receiving an education in this century. High-speed broadband video could make possible remote examinations, diagnoses and surgeries in clinics and hospitals.
Even where competition exists (at least two providers), customers face high switching costs including early-termination fees and equipment rental feels. "The media is full of stories of consumers' struggles to get [Internet service providers] to allow them to drop service," Wheeler said.
A fixed broadband connection remains the best way to access the internet as opposed to wireless broadband. Limited data on mobile devices can't yet service the speeds of a fixed broadband, according to Wheeler.
