The FCC's recent ruling on faster Internet is good news for almost everyone. In fact, the FCC moved to say that the definition of broadband is at least 35 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream, which is a considerable jump compared to the previous definition of 4 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up. In the wake of this news, people across the United States will likely be asking one question: Why does this matter?
Why this matters
"Faster Internet means more opportunities for everyone."
Anyone who uses the Internet on a regular basis to buy, sell, talk, game, research, write, work, edit, watch, or carry out other activities may notice that faster Internet speeds let them get all of the above done more quickly. This is good for users and for companies. It is easier to sell people on doing business online when those things can be done more quickly. Imagine how hard it would have been to sell people on the concept of Youtube in 1995, when it took forever to load just one, short video. The modern speed of the Internet has opened up countless economic opportunities for everyone. People telecommute, play games online, use videoconferencing software to stay connected, all through faster Internet speeds.
Larger industry players may not be happy with having some of their broadband services downgraded, but FCC chairman Tom Wheeler argues that, "the fact that 80 percent of Americans can access 25 Mbps/3 Mbps demonstrates that the speed is a 'standard' and that the FCC should help the other 20 percent catch up."
Republican FCC Comissioner Ajit Pai said recently that, although 70 million household can purchased fixed 25Mbps service, seventy-one percent choose not to. This is likely due to different consumer demographics and interest in online content, however. Not everyone was interested in broadband when it first rolled out, but those that did were the pioneers of a wave of digital services that everyone quickly took advantage of. And subscriptions to these types of high-speed broadband services have quadrupled in the last three years, indicating that there is a major wave of consumers interested in it.
The development of technical trends has always been the result of enough consumers having the resources to make use of them. Organizations that cater to people online by any means should pay attention to this debate as it progresses.
How this will influence digital trends
Everything that is being pushed for in the consumer space is related to data transmission. The Internet of Things, Wearables, cloud computing all other major trends for the consumer and business sectors are related to how fast we can upload and download information. By demanding better broadband for better broadband service, the FCC is paving the way for companies to make use of these opportunities. With more information streaming through the pipes of individual consumers' homes, there will be more room for fun, innovative approaches to these technologies. No one would have seen the Internet as a way to transmit videos in its original inception as a research-transmitting network, but its current incarnation sees an almost-predominant use as a way to watch movies.
Anyone interested in wearables or the future of video streaming online should be happy with the shift toward better access to high-speed Internet across America because it will expand their consumer base. The new digital trends are all toward constant connection. Wearables rely upon information being processed on remote servers, the Internet of Things hopes to let tablets and phones control household objects, and cloud computing is based in the idea that everyone is always online. Faster Internet means more opportunities for everyone. Businesses and consumers alike would prefer to stay in touch.
