• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, November 8, 2017

A coalition of civil rights groups is urging the Federal Communications Commission to reject a proposal to consider mobile broadband as a substitute for wireline service.

"Despite advances in mobile technology, mobile LTE service remains below broadband speed, service dead zones and signal loss reduce reliability, and wireless broadband is more expensive, with more restrictions, than wireline broadband," the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, ACLU, Center for Media Justice, NAACP and other groups say in a recent letter to the FCC.

The groups add that people's ability to access the web from a smartphone is more limited than from other devices. "It remains difficult to apply for a job, take online classes or training, or write a research paper from a mobile device over mobile service," they write. "The Commission, by reconsidering mobile service as a substitute for wireline service, would deny the challenges of the smartphone-dependent, ignore a reality of the digital divide, and discourage investment and digital inclusion efforts to connect these communities."

The comments come in response to an FCC notice soliciting public opinion for an upcoming report about the state of broadband deployment. In the notice, the FCC said it it may set benchmarks for mobile broadband service, and proposed defining mobile broadband as service at speeds of at least 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream. Wireline broadband is currently defined as speeds of at least 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream.

Among other questions, the FCC sought comments from the public about whether it should evaluate fixed and mobile broadband "as separate and distinct ways to achieve advanced telecommunications capability."

Last month, 45 lawmakers,including Sen. Al Franken (D-Minnesota) and Jared Huffman (D-California), also urged the FCC not to decide that mobile broadband is an adequate substitute for wireline service.