On Sunday, Senator Chuck Schumer called upon the Federal Communications Commission to evaluate whether internet providers are delivering the advertised internet speed to NY customers. “When there’s slow internet, it drives you crazy. You just sit and wait and wait and wait. It’s horrible. Well, there’s a new report out that says our internet here in New York may be moving more like molasses than like lightning,” said Schumer during a news conference in his office in Manhattan.
The democrat is concerned that more than 4.3 million people across New York City may be getting ripped off with slower broadband speeds than promised. He added that another 436,000 in Nassau and Suffolk counties may also suffer from speeds lower than the minimum advertised. He pointed to a recent report from Microsoft entitled “Connecting America”, in contrast to data compiled by the FCC,based on self-reporting from internet providers. “The FCC has said internet speeds are up to standards in its report. But Microsoft did its own report and it shows that over four and a half million New Yorkers and Long Islanders are not getting the speed on the internet that the carriers say they’re getting,” Schumer said, adding “that’s a real problem.”
The minimum download speed is 25 megabits per second, as per the FCC. As reported by the NY Post, however, Schumer says that a majority of customers in New York and Long Island are stuck with speeds well below that. “It’s like paying for the speed of a car but getting the speed of a bicycle,” said the senator. “The FCC needs to account for the massive disparity in reported speeds and the real frustration of many New Yorkers, who are at a net loss all around when their internet service is slow, possibly paying for speeds that are not as advertised and losing out on their own productivity,” Schumer said.
Schumer said that the sluggish speed is not only an annoyance but damages efficiency. “It hurts our businesses. It hurts individuals … you should be getting the lightning-fast internet that they have promised,” said the Senate minority leader. Schumer said he suspects the providers are slacking in service as a way of cutting their own costs. “It’s just a lot easier for providers to not upgrade,” he said.
”The FCC is falling down on the job. I don’t think it’s nefarious but the providers, to upgrade to the required speed, would have to pay fr more equipment. They should. We’re all paying big bills for that.”
