Sen. Chuck Schumer on Sunday called on the Federal Communications Commission to review whether internet providers are providing the broadband speed they’re advertising and not ripping off their 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,” Schumer said during a news conference in his Manhattan office.
The New York Democrat compared data in a recent report from Microsoft called “Connecting America” and statistics 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.”
According to the FCC, the minimum download speed is 25 mega bits per second but Schumer says that most consumers in New York and Long Island are not getting service anywhere near that speed.
“It’s like paying for the speed of a car but getting the speed of a bicycle,” the senator said.
Schumer noted that slow internet speeds are not only annoying, they hinder productivity.
“It hurts our businesses. It hurts individuals … you should be getting the lightning-fast internet that they have promised,” Schumer said.
Schumer said the providers are just trying to save a buck.
”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 for more equipment. They should. We’re all paying big bills for that.”