The term “broadband” commonly refers to Internet access that is high speed and provides an “always-on” connection, so users do not have to reestablish a connection each time they access the Internet. Broadband service may be “fixed”—that is, providing service to a single location, such as a customer’s home—or “mobile,” that is, providing service wherever a customer has access to a mobile wireless network, including while on the move, through a mobile device, such as a smartphone. Broadband providers such as cable companies (e.g., Comcast) and telecommunications companies (e.g., AT&T) sell broadband services to individual consumers. Broadband provides Internet connectivity at various speeds. In 2016, the FCC reported that fixed services typically provide greater speeds than mobile services. In 2015, FCC set a benchmark speed of 25 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 3 Mbps upload— ”25 Mbps/3 Mbps”—for fixed service to be considered as providing Americans with access to advanced telecommunications capability, but FCC has not set a similar benchmark for mobile broadband. We use FCC’s benchmark speed of 25 Mbps/3 Mbps for purposes of identifying whether a fixed Internet service provides broadband. We identify a mobile service as broadband if it uses the LTE standard, an industry standard that is part of the fourth generation of wireless telecommunications technology, which is currently in common use. At present, some mobile service providers are testing the fifth generation (5G) of wireless technology. Broadband providers extensively deploy and maintain infrastructure for fixed and mobile broadband. Fixed service generally requires that wires or cables be installed from infrastructure close to the consumer’s location. This process can require attachment to utility poles or installation beneath roadways. Fixed service can also be provided by non-wired means, such as via satellites. This infrastructure connects to service providers’ linkages with the Internet. The process of gaining access to such infrastructure or installing wires or cable can require permits from local or other government entities or utility companies. Figure 1 illustrates several different types of fixed services through which consumers can access broadband. Mobile service requires the installation of antennas that provide service to consumers within a coverage area and may require the construction of a tower on which to place the antenna. To install antennas, providers must obtain permits from government entities with jurisdiction over an antenna’s location or permission from public utilities to deploy antennas on utility poles. Like fixed service providers, mobile service providers must extensively deploy wires or cables to connect their antennas to the Internet—the final connection with the consumer from the antenna is wireless. A key difference between mobile and fixed service is that mobile service provides connectivity to consumers wherever they are covered by service, including while on the move, while fixed service provides connectivity to consumers in a static location, such as a home. Mobile service also requires radio frequency spectrum (spectrum), which mobile service providers use to transmit data. FCC regulates interstate and international communications, including broadband service. It is directed by five commissioners, including one who serves as chairman. FCC is tasked with developing and enforcing regulations; reviewing transactions, such as mergers involving telecommunications companies; licensing spectrum to commercial users, such as broadband providers; and issuing reports on topics related to broadband. FCC’s regulatory authority covers a variety of issues that can affect broadband deployment, such as rates that certain utilities can charge broadband providers for access to utility poles. When FCC develops regulations or issues certain reports, it solicits comments and input from the public, which can include stakeholders, such as broadband providers, consumer advocates, and industry experts. FCC reviews mergers and other transactions that involve the transfer of FCC licenses, such as for commercial use of spectrum. Before a company may assign an FCC license to another company or acquire a company that is already holding a license, FCC is required to approve of the merger or other transaction. FCC is responsible for licensing spectrum for commercial use, which it does through auctions in which prospective users can bid for the rights to spectrum licenses. FCC collects data and issues reports on several topics related to broadband service. Twice a year, it collects data on broadband subscription, deployment, and service quality. It collects data from providers on deployment of fixed broadband in census blocks and data on mobile broadband coverage in discrete geographic areas. These data provide information regarding the number of fixed and mobile broadband providers reporting that service is deployed in at least a part of any given census block. These data also provide information regarding speed, such as the highest upload and download speeds of fixed broadband services that a service provider advertises in a census block. FCC also collects some fixed broadband price data as part of its annual Urban Rate Survey. FCC issues reports on broadband-related topics, including its annual Broadband Progress reports, Mobile Wireless Competition reports, and Measuring Broadband America reports. FCC’s data, as of December 2015, indicate that about 39 percent of the population resides in a census block where two or more fixed broadband providers report that service is deployed at 25 Mbps / 3 Mbps or higher speeds in at least part of the census block (see fig. 2). Its data, as of December 2015, indicate that approximately 99 percent of the population has LTE coverage from at least two mobile broadband providers and that approximately 89 percent have LTE coverage from at least four such providers (see fig. 3). Experts and stakeholders told us that access and associated costs related to infrastructure, spectrum, and video content are barriers to entry in the broadband market. As discussed later, some of these barriers exist in areas where FCC has taken actions, such as infrastructure access and spectrum licensing. Experts and stakeholders we spoke to told us that the costs of deploying broadband infrastructure are barriers to entry for any potential new entrant. These costs can vary by area. For instance, an expert from a broadband provider said that the cost of deploying infrastructure is a more significant barrier to entry in rural areas than in urban areas. Rural areas tend to have conditions such as low population-density or difficult terrain that can increase a provider’s cost of deploying and maintaining broadband networks. For example, mountains in some rural areas may physically block mobile providers’ signals from reaching consumers. Furthermore, in rural areas, the cost of deploying broadband infrastructure is higher on a per-subscriber basis because rural areas have fewer potential subscribers from whom providers can recoup expenses than urban areas. According to a representative from a broadband association, in an urban area, a fixed provider can run cable to an apartment complex that may house hundreds of consumers, whereas in some rural areas, the population is too low to support a single fixed provider given the need for these providers to install wires or cables to each consumer’s property. Consequently, there is often a higher level of competition among fixed service providers in urban areas and progressively less competition away from these areas. Figure 4 of the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas urban area illustrates an example of more service providers in an urban center and fewer providers as distance from the urban center increases. Experts and stakeholders also told us that regulations and rules regarding permitting, pole attachments, and rights-of-way are barriers to deploying broadband infrastructure. For example, a broadband provider told us providers must obtain permits from utilities, municipalities, and other government officials before they can install antennas and other necessary equipment. An expert from a broadband provider noted that the processes for acquiring these permits are sometimes tailored for smaller deployments of infrastructure. This can favor existing broadband providers that are making relatively small additions to their network, but can create delays for a new provider since establishing a network requires a larger scale deployment of infrastructure. An expert from a broadband association added that fees associated with these permits can be costly. Aside from fees, regulations associated with permitting processes can result in delays, which also increase costs for potential market entrants. For example, an expert from a broadband provider described how getting access to poles for the installation of broadband infrastructure can take 2 to 3 months due to state regulations specifying the amount of time that existing companies have to make room on the poles for new providers. This expert explained that these delays become more significant when building out fixed connections to consumers’ homes due to the large number of poles—sometimes thousands per week—that service providers must access to effectively deploy their infrastructure. While costs and delays can arise, a representative of a utility association noted that installing wires or cables under a road can decrease that road’s lifespan, leading to increased costs for the municipality. Further, this representative told us that wires or cables can sometimes run through a municipality without providing that community with service, ultimately leading to increased costs for the municipality without any offsetting benefits. Mobile providers rely on spectrum to transmit broadband service through the air, but according to an economist, acquiring spectrum licenses can be very expensive. Furthermore, spectrum is a finite resource. According to a representative of a consumer advocacy organization, much of the most valuable spectrum is already licensed to existing broadband service providers. Some of this spectrum is also used by the federal government. The representative also said spectrum at lower frequencies is valuable because lower frequencies are able to travel greater distances. This allows companies that hold licenses to lower frequency spectrum bands to use fewer antennas (high-frequency spectrum bands require more antennas, as discussed later). According to a representative of an association for mobile broadband providers, because much of this low frequency spectrum is already licensed, potential competitors may be at a disadvantage since there is little such spectrum left for them to license. An expert in mobile technology told us that greater sharing of spectrum already assigned to commercial and government users may reduce the extent to which spectrum is a barrier to entry and facilitate more competition. For example, this expert told us that sharing such spectrum can help potential entrants to the broadband market by allowing them to lease spectrum from these existing users at a lower cost than purchasing it through an FCC auction. As discussed later, FCC has taken some actions to facilitate spectrum sharing, including addressing some regulatory barriers, and to provide additional spectrum for the provision of wireless service.