With everyone you know griping about not getting the speed they are paying for, the US Federal Communication Commission posed a public study looking at rate caps and overall efficiencies across multiple broadband internet providers.  Most standards, excluding cellular data services, were evaluated simply on the offered speed package from the provider and the overall result in actual data throughput.  No allowances for technological type between copper cable, fiber optic, DSL, and satellite were allowed as the focus was on advertised service promises versus actual performance.

The result was surprising: most broadband suppliers are able to drive 80% to 90% of the advertized upload and download rates even during peak times, and some even increased bandwidth to beyond the offered rate, with Verizon FiOS tending to be the best overall performer.  Providers like Cox Communications and and Comcast also performed very well, but there are also many who didn’t hit the average, like CableVision and AT&T.  If you use one of these lower-performing service providers, take this study as a sign of hope that those companies will be able to shape up and get their networks up to speed.

The full survey results will available from the FCC website’s Broadband section in the near future.

Source: Reuters