In a broadband report released August 14, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission abandoned the national long-term speed goal of 1 gigabit per second download paired with 500 megabits per second upload, a target the agency had set in 2024. It declared current levels of broadband deployment in the United States acceptable and set no replacement target.
The stated reasoning was twofold. The commission said it could not predict long-term technological developments and consumer preferences. It also said the gigabit goal was not “technologically neutral,” meaning it favored fiber over satellite and fixed wireless, which cannot currently meet it.
The report notes that average broadband speeds have risen, competition has increased and prices have fallen.
A speed goal is not a mandate; no provider was required to hit it. What it did was define the standard against which the agency measured whether deployment was adequate, which is the finding that drives federal subsidy and buildout policy. Removing the target without setting another one means the benchmark for “good enough” is now whatever the market is currently delivering.