FCC Redefines Broadband Internet To At Least 25 Mbps, Faster Than National Average

WASHINGTON (CBS SF) – The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to change the definition of what constitutes high-speed internet, adopting a standard 2.5 times the current national average.

According to CNET, the commission voted 3 to 2 to raise the standards for broadband to a download speed of 25 megabits per second and an upload speed of 3 megabits per second. The previous standard was a download speed of 4 Mbps and an upload speed of 1 Mbps.

Thursday's vote comes as an FCC report finds 55 million Americans lack access to advanced broadband services, many in rural areas. Twenty percent of rural Americans don't even have access to the old standard of 4 Mbps.

The average internet speed in the U.S. is 10 megabits per second.

Earlier this week, Google announced they would expand their Fiber Internet service to four cities in the South. Fiber provides speeds of 1 gigabit per second, 40 times faster than the FCC's new standard.