Broadband crisis? Not yet.

Much has been written about this apparent broadband crisis occurring in the United States. Not only are we supposedly falling behind other countries in terms of broadband penetration but apparently in speeds and pricing as well.

Let’s set the record straight. The United States is the 2^nd largest broadband market in the world, behind only China and well ahead of Japan. Broadband penetration, as a percentage of households (the better method calculation, rather than using population like the OECD), is at nearly 60 percent. According to the FCC’s most recent High Speed Internet report, more than 65 percent of subscribers receive speeds greater than 2.5 Megabits per second, with the majority falling into the 5Mbps category; and let us not forget that broadband is available to approximately 88 percent of households.

Can this be improved? Absolutely. Will the proposed broadband stimulus bill make a significant difference? Not likely.

The problem with this bill is the vagueness of its goal. The bill never states that the intent is to provide 100 percent broadband availability. Although the bill throws out speed requirements for basic and advanced broadband, it never states that the goal is to make sure that all broadband subscribers have at least basic (5Mbps/1Mbps) broadband, or that x percent will receive advanced (45Mbps/15Mbps) broadband. In addition, the bill never sets a timeline in order to measure progress.

The FCC is tasked with defining terms such as unserved (easy), underserved (not so easy) and open access (possibly net neutrality, but who knows these days), but without accurate tools and data to make this determination.

While I applaud Congress for finally funding the State Broadband Data & Development Act, it would have been helpful to have this in place ahead of a broadband stimulus. The data collected by this program is crucial to understanding exactly how the United States stacks up against other countries, but more importantly from market to market within this country. Without this information, how do you determine who is underserved?

The other major missing piece is the fact that this bill offers nothing to increase demand, address affordability or digital literacy. All critical components that are necessary for operators to successfully invest and maintain broadband infrastructure.

Yes, speeds can be faster. And yes, availability can be greater. But without broadband policy that sets clear goals, similar to those in Japan, Korea, and the entire European Union, we will eventually have a broadband crisis on our hands.

Teresa Mastrangelo is principal analyst for broadbandtrends.