The term “broadband” doesn’t seem like it needs too much definition – anything over dial-up, right? Not exactly. The FCC’s definition of broadband is a shifting target, mostly because what was once enough to handle all of an average user’s needs can no longer keep up.

All of this is to say that the FCC has updated its definition of “broadband” to mean 4 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up. Know what it used to be? Try 200 Kbps down. Old numbers show that nearly ten percent of the population does not have access to broadband. I would not be surprised to see those numbers skyrocket with the new definitions.

In fact, I’d guess a lot of consumers don’t meet both requirements. I’m fairly certain most Time Warner Cable packages stay in the Kbps range with regard to upload speeds, even at the premium levels. I would love to see that change.