FCC report shows broadband speeds mostly live up to advertised promises

by Gautham Nagesh - 08/02/11 6:15 PM ET

Most major broadband firms provide access that is 80 to 90 percent of advertised speeds or better, according to the first comprehensive assessment of nationwide wired broadband access by the Federal Communications Commission.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski unveiled the report at a Best Buy store in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C., noting that broadband is vital to connecting many of the devices sold around him.

Genachowski told a small group of reporters and FCC staff that while most Internet service providers are living up to their advertised speeds, 80 percent of consumers recently surveyed by the FCC don’t know the speed of the access they purchased.

{mosads}”While there’s a flood of information to help consumers pick the right computer or gadget, when it
comes to picking the service that brings those devices to life, consumers are largely flying blind,” Genachowski said.

The survey covered 13 ISPs and included the participation of academic researchers from MIT and Georgia Tech, technology firms and consumer groups. According to the data, most firms provided access consistent with their advertised speeds, though Cablevision’s service lagged considerably during peak hours (7 p.m. to 11 p.m.).

Genachowski noted the report’s findings are considerably better than a 2009 broadband study in the U.S. and a recent study in the U.K. that found actual speeds were roughly half those advertised.

“Cablevision delivers some of the fastest Internet connections in the country, on our basic tier, two higher levels of service and our WiFi network and this report simply does not reflect the experience of our nearly 3 million broadband customers,” a Cablevision spokesman responded. “Our high-speed Internet product leads the nation in consumer adoption and has consistently won top ratings in much broader and more extensive consumer surveys conducted by J.D. Power & Associates, PC Magazine and others.”

Genachowski said he was pleased with the report’s findings and said the government can now turn its focus to increasing broadband deployment and adoption. The commission also released a step-by-step online guide to help consumers determine what speed of broadband they are purchasing.

“While broadband is physically available to most Americans, roughly one-third of Americans still
are unconnected,” Genachowski said. “That’s nearly 100 million Americans who are being bypassed by the benefits of
broadband. This is the broadband adoption gap.”

Parul Desai, policy counsel for Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, said her organization is pleased the FCC has decided to make the report’s data public, and hopes the commission will undergo a similar review of wireless broadband speeds.

Desai said she also hopes the FCC will take the next step on its Truth in Billing docket by issuing a notice of proposed rule-making.

—This story was posted at 1:50 p.m. and has been updated.

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