FCC: Average U.S. Broadband Speed Rising

Megalith

Megalith

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The latest report indicates that median broadband download speeds have nearly quadrupled from 2011 (10Mbps) to 2015 (39Mbps). Other good news is that ISPs are actually delivering on the speeds they are advertising. DSL and satellite connections have basically remained stagnant, however.

This year’s report shows that broadband speed offerings to the average consumer continue to increase at a rapid pace, and broadband service providers generally are delivering actual speeds that meet or exceed advertised speeds. However, results are not uniform across technologies. The report finds a growing disparity in advertised download speeds between many DSL-based broadband services and most cable- and fiber-based broadband services. Average DSL speeds have increased only slightly over the past five years and satellite speeds, over a shorter time interval, have remained constant.
 
I don't think that is really telling the whole story. Broadband providers in major metro areas keep increasing speeds, but typically keep their monthly caps the same, sometimes even decrease them, while also stepping up enforcement of those caps. Going from 100Mbps to 1Gbps with the same restrictive monthly data caps isn't really much of an upgrade IMO, but it certainly will impact average speeds on paper... I'd rather have slow internet with no cap than Gigabit internet with a cap. Stuff will always finish downloading eventually, and your internet really only *needs* to be as fast as required for your real-time streaming and VoIP needs.

And there really has not been any relevant progress in rural areas. Satellite internet with a 10GB/month data cap is pretty standard, and if you are REALLY lucky you might be able to get an unreliable fixed-wireless internet connection or a <6Mbps ADSL connection.
 
Yep, live in a rural area, speeds haven't changed in the past two decades
 
Yup, people can pat their selves on the back in office, yet nothing has actually changed. If you were lucky enough to be in an area that cable started servicing 15+ years ago, they used to progressively double their speeds every 18 months or so. Back around 2002 cable competed with DSL at 1.5mbps, then cable went up to 3, 6, 12, 25, 50. Anything around there that didn't get cable when they expanded their footprint some 15 years ago, hasn't seen a change. I can drive 5 minutes away, still be in the same zip code, some can get the same paltry < 6mbps DSL they were offered over 10 years ago, others still can't even get that. But even the ones in the cable area are now seeing stagnation. In the past 5 years we've only doubled our speeds one time where previous we would have probably had 3 speed doublings. Chances are without a push for competition we're not going to be seeing much in the way of increases anymore. (Especially now that Internet subscribers outgrew tv subs)
 
Yep it's to make it easier for us to hit our caps. My isp has zero competition so their only motivation for higher speeds is their cap penalties.
 
Too bad the FCC wasn't smart enough to also research the increase in prices for these faster connections, and also do something about eliminating the damn data caps.....
 
The 5mb DSL that I have been stuck with for the last 8 years doesn't feel any faster...

Thanks AT&T.
 
this really doesn't surprise me a huge amount. DSL has reached its max for most places unless people put in new equipment to give shorter loops they can't do any better. G.Fast gives you 1Gbps but is something you expect to see deployed in an apartment building and not to homes since you need to be very close to the DSLAM.

some people will install new DSLAMs to reduce the distance to customers to give faster speeds, but not everyone. Instead they use the locations they have and offer the fastest they can from that location until they replace areas with fiber, or the world ends which ever comes first depending on where you live.


bonehead123 said:
Too bad the FCC wasn't smart enough to also research the increase in prices for these faster connections, and also do something about eliminating the damn data caps.....
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who do you think sets the prices for some of those? They know what the prices are. When you are regulated to charge X amount that normally is documented. In a nice few hundred page document actually. Great read for sleepless nights.
 
Consumers with access to faster services continue to migrate to higher service tiers. Data shows that panelists subscribed in September 2014 to service tiers with advertised download speeds between 15 Mbps to 50 Mbps are the most likely to have migrated towards higher service tiers. In contrast, among panelists subscribed in September 2014 to service tiers with advertised download speeds of less than 15 Mbps – offered mostly by DSL services – only a few per cent migrated within the following year to a service tier with a higher download speed.
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Goes to show that customers on lower speeds are one of two types of people:

- Value shoppers who dont care about their internet speed, and just want the cheapest they can get (think your parents or grandparents). Since they shop mainly on price, these people are unlikely to migrate to faster services unless they get some sort of package and it is thus cheaper than what they are currently paying.

or

- People who live in rural or other areas where they simply don't have the options to migrate to anything faster.
 
Just bought a house in a pretty rural area. I am able to get fiber 100/50 which is awesome. The router they provide sucks balls but I will be replacing it soon with a ubiquity router and ap.
 
And with the new and improved FCC coming soon, that will change for sure...
 
drklu said:
Just bought a house in a pretty rural area. I am able to get fiber 100/50 which is awesome. The router they provide sucks balls but I will be replacing it soon with a ubiquity router and ap.
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I know a lot of people like to equate rural with shit service, but it depends on who the carrier is. Rural + big tier 1 then yes your service will be shit. But rural and small tier 2 or 3. Probably will have fiber or decent speeds with VDSL. I am going to guess that you have a small telco as your provider correct?
 
Yep, small provider, actually just ran the fiber up there about 15 miles a few years ago. Really nice to get that service out here.
 
drklu said:
Yep, small provider, actually just ran the fiber up there about 15 miles a few years ago. Really nice to get that service out here.
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which is understandable. They probably either got the stimulus package or the RUS loan. The stimulus package was something like $50,000 - $100,000 grant towards fiber upgrades if I am correct. Normally that was really small places that only had 300 - 500 customers that took that. Some others were able to apply for the RUS loan which gave you money with a really low interest rate and 10 years to pay it back if I recall the terms. Which for smaller providers up to a certain point that was great and allowed them to upgrade to a softswitch (IP based telephone switch) and fiber to the home. We were a little too big for that loan to work for us and so are just doing fiber upgrades out of pocket as fast as we can.
 
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