In light of recent market developments, novel consumer harms in the interconnection disputes between operators, widespread consumer complaints about Internet speeds and latency, and the evidence submitted by commenters, we conclude that the Commission should certainly take the steps suggested in the Notice of Inquiry to revise the thresholds for defining “advanced telecommunications capabilities.” In particular, we support an increase in the defined speed threshold from the current bar of 4 mbps/1 mbps upward to 50 Mbps/20 Mbps—a goal set for 2015 by the Commission in the 2010 National Broadband Plan. Further, we support the establishment of a latency metric as a part of the Section 706 review that takes into consideration both round trip times and packet loss. And finally, we recommend the Commission apply this latency metric as an important criteria in determining whether reasonable and timely deployment of those “advanced telecommunications capabilities” has occurred.
