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Delaware Is A Broadband Beast
New Akamai study ranks fastest countries, States...

Akamai today released their second ever "State of the Internet Report," (registration required) which covers a number of topics including broadband penetration, broadband speeds, security, and more. Of particular note was their measurement of speed, with the report examining not only the fastest countries, but the fastest States. According to Akamai, they consider anything 2Mbps or greater to be "broadband," with anything 5Mbps or greater to be "high broadband."

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Akamai's 2 and 5Mbps watermarks clearly obliterate that of our own FCC, who, until recently, declared anything over 200kbps to be broadband (it has been an absolutely epic struggle to get them to change that to 768kbps). Still, the U.S. fares pretty well globally, coming in at sixth place overall, with 26% of connections surpassing 5Mbps (we're up from seventh place last May). We're ranked 15th worldwide in broadband density, with an average of 23.3 broadband subscribers per 100 residents.

More interesting perhaps is Akamai's rankings of the fastest (and slowest) U.S. States. According to Akamai, Delaware continues its reign as the fastest state in the union, with 66% of users hitting the Akamai network at speeds greater than 5Mbps. According to Akamai, seven states had less than 10% of their connections to Akamai occur at speeds greater than 5 Mbps, with Hawaii at the bottom of the list.
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FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

Now tell me again why we need to collect info we already ...

... have.

So why does the FCC need to collect all this broadband info, when it is abundantly clear that same info is already available from other sources.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

2 recommendations

Kearnstd

Premium Member

Re: Now tell me again why we need to collect info we already ...

because the FCC needs to find a way to spend money to keep its budget up. to you know hire lawyers to fine TV stations when a boob jumps out.

Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

1 recommendation

Karl Bode to FFH5

News Guy

to FFH5
quote:
So why does the FCC need to collect all this broadband info, when it is abundantly clear that same info is already available from other sources.
The info the FCC is potentially no longer collecting focuses on network investment, customer satisfaction, and network reliability. Do you see any of those measurement criteria reflected in this report? Or are you simply building your eight millionth straw man this month?

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: Now tell me again why we need to collect info we already ...

said by Karl Bode:
quote:
So why does the FCC need to collect all this broadband info, when it is abundantly clear that same info is already available from other sources.
The info the FCC is potentially no longer collecting focuses on network investment, customer satisfaction, and network reliability. Do you see any of those measurement criteria reflected in this report? Or are you simply building your eight millionth straw man this month?
I remember plenty of stories here decrying the fact that the FCC doesn't know who has broadband, what speeds they have, what percentage of users have broadband, etc. and that they need to require the ISP's to provide them that info. None of those demands had anything to do with satisfaction, money spent, reliability, etc.

Well it certainly appears that they could get all the broadband penetration and speed stats elsewhere.

Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

4 edits

2 recommendations

Karl Bode

News Guy

Re: Now tell me again why we need to collect info we already ...

I remember plenty of stories here decrying the fact that the FCC doesn't know who has broadband, what speeds they have, what percentage of users have broadband, etc. and that they need to require the ISP's to provide them that info.
They don't collect accurate data, but they pretend to.
Well it certainly appears that they could get all the broadband penetration and speed stats elsewhere.
Akamai's data is hardly comprehensive and doesn't appear to actually map rural broadband coverage by zip code or any other "boots on the ground" metric, it simply bases all conclusions on traffic that hits their network. Were I a government agency tasked with making huge decisions that impact the telecom infrastructure of the nation, I'd probably want my own, objective, and far more detailed data, not data provided by the industry I'm supposed to be regulating. But that's just me. I'm not an industry investor who financially benefits from garbage data supporting the case for less infrastructure investment.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

1 edit

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: Now tell me again why we need to collect info we already ...

said by Karl Bode:

Were I a government agency tasked with making huge decisions that impact the telecom infrastructure of the nation, I'd probably want my own, objective, and far more detailed data, not data provided by the industry I'm supposed to be regulating.
And how would data provided by the ISPs to the FCC not be data provided by the regulated industry? I would think data provide by Akamai and others would be MORE reliable.

Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

1 edit

Karl Bode

News Guy

Re: Now tell me again why we need to collect info we already ...

Akamai is also in the industry. And, Yeah. The FCC (gasp) might actually want to go out into the field to see who has broadband before making massive decisions.

Vchat20
Landing is the REAL challenge
Premium Member
join:2003-09-16
Columbus, OH

1 edit

Vchat20

Premium Member

Re: Now tell me again why we need to collect info we already ...

In addition, Akamai can only 'map' so to speak based on ip addresses, ip blocks, ISP regions, etc.. which becomes real broad at best and is no better than the FCC's own 'one broadband user per zip code equates to being fully wired' method. This thread interestingly comes to mind: »Why is my IP so far away?

Search around this very site and you'll find many people where their city has been wired for some sort of broadband but for one reason or another they are JUST enough distance to get squat without paying a few grand at the least to extend lines. Should they be pushed to the wayside in these studies just because ~60% of the ISP's footprint is covered and they didn't want to spend the relatively small capital to finish the job?

Akamai and the FCC's current test method are only going to see that x region has y amount of users on broadband connections and will count that as fully wired. But go investigate in person and find many broadband 'dead zones' scattered and all of a sudden the area's not as 'fully wired' as originally claimed.

Boogeyman
Drive it like you stole it
Premium Member
join:2002-12-17
Wasilla, AK

Boogeyman to FFH5

Premium Member

to FFH5
Probably because all the major ISP's ignore anything that isnt paid for by them or from the FCC. And even then they argue that it isnt factual.

funchords
Hello
MVM
join:2001-03-11
Yarmouth Port, MA

funchords to FFH5

MVM

to FFH5
said by FFH5:

... have.

So why does the FCC need to collect all this broadband info, when it is abundantly clear that same info is already available from other sources.
TK, TK, TK ... I think you are guilty of hand-picking your sources.

The funny thing is that both this source (Akamai) and the other source (the CWA) both have reasons to eye Telecom and CableCo management with suspicion.

That said, THANK YOU AKAMAI -- every little bit helps.

NetAdmin1
CCNA
join:2008-05-22

NetAdmin1 to FFH5

Member

to FFH5
said by FFH5:

So why does the FCC need to collect all this broadband info, when it is abundantly clear that same info is already available from other sources.
It is because all of the data out there is junk. None of available data has been scientifically gathered, nor have proper methods been employed to ensure the quality and accuracy of the data.

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
Netgear WNDR3700v2
Zoom 5341J

KrK to FFH5

Premium Member

to FFH5
said by FFH5:

... have.

So why does the FCC need to collect all this broadband info, when it is abundantly clear that same info is already available from other sources.
Because the FCC's data is supposed to be unbiased and neutral (ha), whereas data from Companies, Non-Profits, Think-Tanks, and/or Industry lobbyists could easily be.... well... "Manipulated" to support/suggest a certain agenda.
KrK

KrK to FFH5

Premium Member

to FFH5
Imagine if the Police brought in a suspect.

They ask "Did you do it.?" and the suspect says "Nope. I'm innocent!" and the police said "Whoops! Our bad! You're free to go, case closed!"

The regulators and enforcers aren't supposed to take the industries word for it...

HarleyYac
Lee
Premium Member
join:2001-10-13
Allendale, NJ

HarleyYac to FFH5

Premium Member

to FFH5
Pssssst.. they got it from the NSA.. It's just a bonus

kamm
join:2001-02-14
Brooklyn, NY

kamm to FFH5

Member

to FFH5
said by FFH5:

... have.

So why does the FCC need to collect all this broadband info, when it is abundantly clear that same info is already available from other sources.
What a stupid question...

Perhaps because Akamai != internet access?
jebba2005
join:2005-01-13
Portland, ME

1 edit

jebba2005

Member

Thanks Google.

edit...nevermind , wrong report
romulusnr
join:2007-08-01
Federal Way, WA

romulusnr

Member

Banks need fat pipes to their DRCs

Not terribly surprising, really, after a moment's thought. Of course, Delaware is among the most proportionally urbanized states. But its also a huge haven for banks and FIs, who not only like to have lots of financial data flying in at realtime speed, but also need fat pipes to their offsite backup facilities (e.g. disaster recovery centers)

I wonder how much of that DE IP bandwidth is carrying VPN tunnels.

Hazy Arc
join:2006-04-10
Greenwood, SC

Hazy Arc

Member

How Shocking

So...states that are smallish and very heavily populated have higher broadband speeds on average? I'm speechless.

In other news, human beings have invented the wheel.
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

patcat88

Member

Re: How Shocking

I don't think so. CT has ultra-fast Optimum Online (15 base plan) and slow ATT DSL, not sure what Cox has. NY state has TWC roadrunner whose basic tier is 5 (now 7 or 10 IIRC) mbps and Verizon (FIOS). Delaware is Verizon again. Dunno the cable situation in Delaware. But I really do wonder who the cable provider is in Delaware, and how much, if any FIOS has been deployed. If the reason why Delaware has such fast internet is because of slacking off at work and using the office's T3/SONET to browse the web, well, time to not invest in Delaware headquartered companies.
winstoda
join:2005-10-04
Middletown, DE

1 edit

winstoda

Member

Re: How Shocking

Fios is widely available here. Combine the vast availability of Fios with the relatively small number of households in the state and it's no surprise we're #1 in this study.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd to Hazy Arc

Premium Member

to Hazy Arc
Delaware atleast Bear, Wilmington, New Castle and Newark are Comcast for cable.
dacinc
join:2006-03-15
Middletown, NJ

dacinc

Member

Geography

Well, part of the reason Delaware has good broadband coverage is the geography. The state is so small that you could wire it for broadband with a couple boxes of CAT5E cable.

ztmike
Mark for moderation
Premium Member
join:2001-08-02
La Porte, IN

ztmike

Premium Member

Powerboost?

I bet "Powerboost" is messing up half these "speed tests" that these companies are doing.
mwkessler
Wildblue
join:2003-10-24
Harrington, DE

mwkessler

Member

Delaware

What they dont tell you is that only 25% of delaware is able to get broadband the rest of the state is still on dial up.