reghakr
Essential Member
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2009
- Messages
- 14,186
- Thread Author
- #1
Link Removed
Broadband providers in the US have long hawked their wares in "up to" terms. You know—"up to" 10Mbps, where "up to" sits like a tiny pebble beside the huge font size of the raw number.
In reality, no one gets these speeds. That's not news to the techno-literate, of course, but a Link Removed due to 404 Error (PDF) shines a probing flashlight on the issue and makes a sharp conclusion: broadband users get, on average, a mere 50 percent of that "up to" speed they had hoped to achieve.
After crunching the data, FCC wonks have concluded that ISPs advertised an average (mean) "up to" download speed of 6.7Mbps in 2009. That's not what broadband users got, though.
"However, FCC analysis shows that the median actual speed consumers experienced in the first half of 2009 was roughly 3 Mbps, while the average (mean) actual speed was approximately 4 Mbps," says the report. "Therefore actual download speeds experienced by US consumers appear to lag advertised speeds by roughly 50 percent."
The agency used metrics data from Akamai and comScore to make this determination, though a more accurate direct measurement is currently taking place under FCC auspices. The more accurate measurement will put small boxes in people's homes for weeks at a time, recording actual line speeds in thousands of US homes at all times of the day and night. But, until that data set is complete, Internet traffic data from Akamai and comScore will have to suffice.
Link Removed
When you look at actual speeds, most Americans have fairly slow service
Data source: FCC
The gap between advertisement and reality isn't a function of technology—it applied to all kinds of broadband connections, from cable to DSL to fiber. The less-than-ideal speeds aren't necessarily the "fault" of the ISP, either; crufty computers, poky routers, misconfigured WiFi, transient line noise, and Internet congestion all play a role.
Whatever the cause, though, the FCC has concluded that advertising the "up to" speed is so inaccurate (and so confusing to consumers) that something better should be tried, sort of a "nutrition label" for Internet access. The National Broadband Plan suggested something along these lines and the new FCC report supports the idea, recommending that a standard truth-in-labeling form should be drafted by the FCC, "the National Institute of Standards and Technology, consumer groups, industry and other technical experts."
The FCC has proposed a few example labels of its own:
Link Removed
Example broadband labels (source: FCC)
The New America Foundation last year proposed a standardized "truth-in-labeling" box with far more detail, and it used the new FCC report as a way to pitch its idea once more.
Link Removed
New America Foundation's prototype Schumer Box for broadband customers
For now, broadband buyers should just expect their connections to offer about half the promised maximum speed. If that gets you down, just remember: you aren't in this alone. UK broadband users also see speeds only half as fast as advertised.
Source: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/08/your-worst-fears-confirmed-real-broadband-speeds-half-of-whats-advertised.ars
Broadband providers in the US have long hawked their wares in "up to" terms. You know—"up to" 10Mbps, where "up to" sits like a tiny pebble beside the huge font size of the raw number.
In reality, no one gets these speeds. That's not news to the techno-literate, of course, but a Link Removed due to 404 Error (PDF) shines a probing flashlight on the issue and makes a sharp conclusion: broadband users get, on average, a mere 50 percent of that "up to" speed they had hoped to achieve.
After crunching the data, FCC wonks have concluded that ISPs advertised an average (mean) "up to" download speed of 6.7Mbps in 2009. That's not what broadband users got, though.
"However, FCC analysis shows that the median actual speed consumers experienced in the first half of 2009 was roughly 3 Mbps, while the average (mean) actual speed was approximately 4 Mbps," says the report. "Therefore actual download speeds experienced by US consumers appear to lag advertised speeds by roughly 50 percent."
The agency used metrics data from Akamai and comScore to make this determination, though a more accurate direct measurement is currently taking place under FCC auspices. The more accurate measurement will put small boxes in people's homes for weeks at a time, recording actual line speeds in thousands of US homes at all times of the day and night. But, until that data set is complete, Internet traffic data from Akamai and comScore will have to suffice.
Link Removed
When you look at actual speeds, most Americans have fairly slow service
Data source: FCC
The gap between advertisement and reality isn't a function of technology—it applied to all kinds of broadband connections, from cable to DSL to fiber. The less-than-ideal speeds aren't necessarily the "fault" of the ISP, either; crufty computers, poky routers, misconfigured WiFi, transient line noise, and Internet congestion all play a role.
Whatever the cause, though, the FCC has concluded that advertising the "up to" speed is so inaccurate (and so confusing to consumers) that something better should be tried, sort of a "nutrition label" for Internet access. The National Broadband Plan suggested something along these lines and the new FCC report supports the idea, recommending that a standard truth-in-labeling form should be drafted by the FCC, "the National Institute of Standards and Technology, consumer groups, industry and other technical experts."
The FCC has proposed a few example labels of its own:
Link Removed
Example broadband labels (source: FCC)
The New America Foundation last year proposed a standardized "truth-in-labeling" box with far more detail, and it used the new FCC report as a way to pitch its idea once more.
Link Removed
New America Foundation's prototype Schumer Box for broadband customers
For now, broadband buyers should just expect their connections to offer about half the promised maximum speed. If that gets you down, just remember: you aren't in this alone. UK broadband users also see speeds only half as fast as advertised.
Source: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/08/your-worst-fears-confirmed-real-broadband-speeds-half-of-whats-advertised.ars
Highwayman
Extraordinary Member
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2009
- Messages
- 3,969
Yea I know that feeling, I subscribe for 24mb and get around 9-11mb fluctuating, although thats still pretty fast where I live out in the sticks where Cable providers likely not reach to this decade, at least I can relax that I'm with one of the few truely uncapped services so no nasty emails when I hit some invisible limit as imposed by virtually all the other ISPs here in the UK.
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