Under the previous FCC, wireless was deemed important, but not yet anywhere near a suitable replacement for fixed-line broadband, especially in more remote areas where cellular connectivity will likely remain spotty for decades to come.

The move directly caters to AT&T and Verizon, who have largely given up on rural and second and third-tier city fixed-line broadband deployment, arguing that existing, expensive wireless connectivity is "good enough".

In Broadband the US ranks at world number 9 with 70 MBps download but most people in the US do not see that download speed.

The US is ranked at 46th in wireless download speed at 23 Mbps. If US wireless companies were permitted and chose to drop to 10 MBps and still be classified as broadband then the US would drop to a world ranking of 101 which is the level of Nigeria.