U.S. Broadband Still Relatively Slow Speed Matters released third annual speed report... Tuesday Aug 25 2009 12:01 EDT A telecom labor union-backed group dubbed Speed Matters has released their third annual report on the state of the broadband union. The group, with an obvious interest in increased broadband deployment, has long lamented the fact that the US is only industrialized country without a national policy to promote universal, affordable high speed Internet access. Well, at least for another 176 days, at which point the FCC will unveil our new broadband plan. The group has logged 413,000 broadband speed tests via their website, and says we're still significantly behind other developed nations. 18% of testers have connections slower than 768 kbps, while 51% of testers have connections between 768 kbps and 6 Mbps. 17% of testers have speeds between 10 Mbps and 25 Mbps, while just 2% of users posted speeds faster than 25 Mbps. "Between 2007 and 2009, the average download speed in the United States has increased by only 1.6 megabits per second (mbps), from 3.5 mbps in 2007 to 5.1 mbps in 2009," proclaims the report. "At this rate, it will take the United States 15 years to catch up with current Internet speeds in South Korea, the country with the fastest average Internet connections." Speed Matters also released a complete breakdown of each state and territory's average broadband speed. Montana (2,322 kbps), Puerto Rico (1,043 kbps), Hawaii (2,968 kbps) and Wyoming (2,598) bring up the rear, while Delaware (9,906 kbps), Rhode Island (9,788 kbps), Massachusetts (8,645 kbps) and New Jersey (8,863 kbps) clock in as the fastest states. Recent reports by Akamai confirm Delaware is the fastest state in the union, and that the United States has the 33rd fastest average broadband connections in the world. "The average download speed of U.S. Internet connections is 5.1 megabits per second, significantly below the averages of countries like South Korea (20.1 mbps), Japan (16 mbps) and Sweden (12.7 mbps)," Speed Matters' Alex Kellner tells Broadband Reports. "Only twenty percent of those who took the Speed Matters speed test have Internet speeds in the range of the top ranked countries," notes Kellner, adding that "18 percent of test takers didn’t meet the FCC definition for current-generation broadband." |
OCZThe Former Pocket join:2009-05-15 Saint Paul, MN |
OCZ
Member
2009-Aug-25 11:36 am
Comparison...It's kind of cool to see how much more the East coast is covered with broadband access then the west coast. | |
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Re: Comparison...said by OCZ:It's kind of cool to see how much more the East coast is covered with broadband access then the west coast. There's a reason for that. Apart from California a lot of the West is not as populated as the East. | |
| | | pandora Premium Member join:2001-06-01 Outland |
pandora
Premium Member
2009-Aug-25 2:55 pm
Re: Comparison...It's all about population density. A lot of the U.S. is very sparsely populated, and it will never be economically viable to build physical infrastructure to provide broadband. Wireless may be an option. | |
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Re: Comparison...said by pandora:It's all about population density. A lot of the U.S. is very sparsely populated, and it will never be economically viable to build physical infrastructure to provide broadband. Wireless may be an option. And it is the shear stupidity of these statements that has us where we are. I guess the same could of been said of phone, electric, gas, highways, and educational systems. Glad the government stepped in to force those on us. It is about time they do the same here. | |
| | | | | pandora Premium Member join:2001-06-01 Outland |
pandora
Premium Member
2009-Aug-25 6:08 pm
Re: Comparison...said by Skippy25:And it is the shear stupidity of these statements that has us where we are. I guess the same could of been said of phone, electric, gas, highways, and educational systems. Glad the government stepped in to force those on us. It is about time they do the same here. There are jerks who unfortunately cast out insults and are unable to debate. Last time I was in Nebraska I passed a sign saying 157 miles to the next service station. Perhaps one day you may become acquainted with the United States. | |
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Re: Comparison...It won't be economically viable in the short-term no. But a recent report by the USDA has demonstrated the significant long-term positive economic effects of broadband on rural areas.
Not to mention over the long-term, even with a somewhat lower uptake rate on the fiber, the initial capital investment will be paid off. | |
| | | | | | | pandora Premium Member join:2001-06-01 Outland |
pandora
Premium Member
2009-Aug-25 9:48 pm
Re: Comparison...Maybe broadband via wireless for some hard to serve rural areas would suffice. In the U.S. we have many areas with low population density, and it makes providing service expensive. Rural charm may involve being remote from not only people, but various types of services. | |
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to pandora
First I did not insult you, I simply pointed out the shear stupidity and lack of vision in your very short sighted comment. If you should be judged by this one comment, let me know.
I would be happy to debate this with you all day. Lets start with the fact that I am assuming there in Nebraska where you saw "that sign" you were on a road that was provided by the government weren't you? Or was this a dirt trail created by many other cars that traveled before you like back in the 1800's?
I will also assume that when you arrived 157 miles at that next service station you would be able to use their phone and they had electricity and running water all of which were there because they were REQUIRED to be there.
Or are you suggesting that a service station that is that remote earns enough money that it paid the 10,000's if not millions of dollars to provide all those services (road, phone, water, electricity) to itself and continues to bask in the cash to maintain those services?
Bring the debate on if you think you have one. | |
| | | | | | | pandora Premium Member join:2001-06-01 Outland |
pandora
Premium Member
2009-Aug-26 10:14 pm
Re: Comparison...said by Skippy25:First I did not insult you, I simply pointed out the shear stupidity and lack of vision in your very short sighted comment. If you should be judged by this one comment, let me know. I would be happy to debate this with you all day. Lets start with the fact that I am assuming there in Nebraska where you saw "that sign" you were on a road that was provided by the government weren't you? Or was this a dirt trail created by many other cars that traveled before you like back in the 1800's? I will also assume that when you arrived 157 miles at that next service station you would be able to use their phone and they had electricity and running water all of which were there because they were REQUIRED to be there. Or are you suggesting that a service station that is that remote earns enough money that it paid the 10,000's if not millions of dollars to provide all those services (road, phone, water, electricity) to itself and continues to bask in the cash to maintain those services? Bring the debate on if you think you have one. I'll stand by my initial statement regarding your post - "There are jerks who unfortunately cast out insults and are unable to debate." | |
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Re: Comparison...LOL, I guess you have no grounds to stand on a debate with so you repost a little of nothing.
Well played, now tuck your tail and go hide under the bed. | |
| | | | | | | | | pandora Premium Member join:2001-06-01 Outland |
pandora
Premium Member
2009-Aug-27 11:22 am
Re: Comparison...No Skippy,
I've done over 8,000 posts in these forums, and had more than my share of debates. Your antagonistic and insulting attitude aren't really demonstrating an interest in debate. | |
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Re: Comparison...Pathetic. If you can't debate it just say so. No reason to hide behind "I've done over 8,000 posts in these forums, and had more than my share of debates. Your antagonistic and insulting attitude aren't really demonstrating an interest in debate." | |
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to OCZ
Does BBR ever have any real news? | |
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to OCZ
There was a controversy about SpeedMatters awhile back. Something about their networks being low-bandwidth. They may have fixed that now, but unless they have multiple geographically diverse speedtest sites you're not getting an accurate description of speeds.
Also, by the end of the year the nation's largest cable company will have most of their customers above the 10 Mbps mark, shifting the national average northward by a megabit or two. | |
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baineschile2600 ways to live Premium Member join:2008-05-10 Sterling Heights, MI |
Basic geographyThe US has a lot of people spread over a wide area. Countries that are high and fast in BB pentration are generally smaller, and have a higher concentration of people (Japan, S Korea, most parts of Europe).
Also, a side note. That map color kinda makes New Jersey look like a pimple on the United States | |
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Re: Basic geographyDon't make excuses , if that was the case all metro areas with high density would be served by gig e fiber. | |
| | | KearnstdSpace Elf Premium Member join:2002-01-22 Mullica Hill, NJ |
Kearnstd
Premium Member
2009-Aug-25 12:54 pm
Re: Basic geographyit is also money, lots of these super fast countries the networks are being built by state owned or state funded telecoms and not stock held corporations.
could our corporations run fiber to every home, sure but the stock holders would fire the board. | |
| | | | Gbcue Premium Member join:2001-09-30 Santa Rosa, CA |
Gbcue
Premium Member
2009-Aug-25 4:00 pm
Re: Basic geographysaid by Kearnstd:could our corporations run fiber to every home, sure but the stock holders would fire the board. They can, and do (Verizon FiOS). Now, after spending $25 billion, they're making money hand over fist. | |
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to Kearnstd
said by Kearnstd:it is also money, lots of these super fast countries the networks are being built by state owned or state funded telecoms and not stock held corporations. could our corporations run fiber to every home, sure but the stock holders would fire the board. No they're not. Japan didn't subsidize fiber build-out. They used very strict regulations to encourage FTTH. That's why their most remote rural areas still don't have fiber. Sweden is the same. Only South Korea's government really seems focused on subsidizing fiber build-outs. And considering the telecoms received $200 billion here in the US to build out fiber (and instead used that money to build their wireless networks, which have been a giant cashcow for them over the last 10 years), I don't see how the industry could be any more "subsidized" over here. | |
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| StefaniaJezu Chryste, Kubi Premium Member join:2003-03-17 Chicago, IL |
to baineschile
So compare it to the average speeds of the entire continent of Europe. We'd still be very far behind. | |
| | | baineschile2600 ways to live Premium Member join:2008-05-10 Sterling Heights, MI |
Re: Basic geographyActually, I would love that stat. I wonder how the average of Poland, Austria, Bosnia, etc would factor in.... | |
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KBB
Anon
2009-Aug-26 8:55 am
Re: Basic geographyData for Poland aren't so bad: average tested download speed (» www.speedtest.net/global.php) is 3.3 Mbit/s. Poland has no FTTH deployed so far, and the dominant access technology is DSL - currently up to 22 Mbit/s. | |
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| 88615298 (banned) join:2004-07-28 West Tenness |
to baineschile
said by baineschile:The US has a lot of people spread over a wide area. Countries that are high and fast in BB pentration are generally smaller, and have a higher concentration of people (Japan, S Korea, most parts of Europe). That's a bullshit excuse. then how come RI doen't have symetrical 100 Mbps conenctions? Very small and TWICE the population density of Japan | |
| | | baineschile2600 ways to live Premium Member join:2008-05-10 Sterling Heights, MI |
Re: Basic geographyBecause there isnt 1 provider that serves RI that doesnt service a larger state where the infastructure is already in place.
Also, lets not forget basic business here. Supply and demand. Right now, there is very little demand for a 100/sym interner (BBR users aside), therefore, there is no supply. | |
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Re: Basic geographyThat's really not true. The recent recession has demonstrated the increasing inelasticity of broadband. The fact that lower-speed DSL providers continue to hemorrhage customers to higher-speed cable, forcing AT&T and Verizon to upgrade their networks, is ample evidence of demand.
Verizon's Fios service thus far has been quite successful. Rural carriers who have been stringing out fiber over the last decade have also been successful. This proves there is in fact demand for FTTH.
Not to mention the issue is often times a chicken and egg scenario. Until the connections are available and a few early adopters use them and tell all their friends how great it is, the demand will not reach its true potential. | |
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Re: Basic geographysaid by sonicmerlin:Verizon's Fios service thus far has been quite successful. Rural carriers who have been stringing out fiber over the last decade have also been successful. This proves there is in fact demand for FTTH. FiOS is successful because they are aggressively marketing it and aggressively competing against cable. Put two computers, one connected to cable, one connected to fios and don't tell people which is which and they won't really be able to tell the difference, nor care about the difference. The TV service is also a major draw to FiOS. Not only does it provide more channels but it is also cheaper in many places. | |
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to baineschile
Correction: it's not about supply and demand, it's about competition.
In areas where there's 50 Mbps fiber, cable companies have been quick to roll otu 50 Mbps DOCSIS 3. I'll bet Comcast will have 100 Mbps by the end of next yesr, maybe even symmetric thanks to channel bonding on the upstream side of the pipe. However that will probably only be in a select few areas, where FiOS is, at least for awhile. | |
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| N3OGHYo Soy Col. "Bat" Guano Premium Member join:2003-11-11 Philly burbs |
to baineschile
said by baineschile:Also, a side note. That map color kinda makes New Jersey look like a pimple on the United States More like a wart on the ass of progress. Or a festering sore of corruption. Where else can you find rabbis trafficking in kidneys? | |
| | | baineschile2600 ways to live Premium Member join:2008-05-10 Sterling Heights, MI |
Re: Basic geographyLOL @ NJ | |
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FFH5 Premium Member join:2002-03-03 Tavistock NJ 4 edits |
FFH5
Premium Member
2009-Aug-25 11:52 am
Did Speed Matters take wireless in to account with their #'sI didn't find it on their site, but it might be there somewhere, but did Speed Matters take measurement skewing in to account with people using smartphones(the ones that support flash?) both thru WiFi and thru 2G & 3G wireless networks? If they didn't, that would be a problem with their statistics. Also more relevant, they used speedtest.net for all measurements outside the US, but DIDN'T use the same more extensive database from speedtest.net for their US comparisons. Why is that? Because speedtest.net has a much bigger sampling and shows higher numbers than from their own site?
Speed matters says US down/up is 5.1/1.1 mbps Speedtest.net says US down/up is 6.79/1.51 mbps
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Re: Did Speed Matters take wireless in to account with their #'ssaid by FFH5:Also more relevant, they used speedtest.net for all measurements outside the US, but DIDN'T use the same more extensive database from speedtest.net for their US comparisons. Why is that? Because speedtest.net has a much bigger sampling and shows higher numbers than from their own site? Welcome to the world of fudged statistics! Oh, btw, I don't think that in this case 1.69 difference is going to make all THAT much of a difference... considering the US is still WAY off the bottom of that list as well (notice it goes 12, 13, 14, ~~, 27/28). | |
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88615298 (banned) join:2004-07-28 West Tenness
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88615298 (banned)
Member
2009-Aug-25 11:52 am
Kind of dubiousI saw for my zip code it said 768 kbps-6 Mbps and I know Charter offers 20 Mbps. Clicked my area and only 4 tests were done. How in the hell are you going to base anything on 4 tests. It says 2326 kbps for the speed in my area. Which is of course totally off. I can guarantee the vast majority of people in my area that have internet have speds faster than 2326 kbps | |
| caco Premium Member join:2005-03-10 Whittier, AK 1 edit |
caco
Premium Member
2009-Aug-25 11:54 am
Last I checked Puerto Rico was not a state.Someone please tell these folks. Shit load of unions on the island though.
They threw in DC also. Nice. | |
| | ••• | mrkevinKnowledge comes, but wisdom lingers. Premium Member join:2007-08-07 Aurora, ME |
mrkevin
Premium Member
2009-Aug-25 12:01 pm
I'm happyI see my state ranks 42...Way to go. I see at least we are consistant.
The map is wrong also. We offer more than 768k, and our area is colored white. | |
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adahlbe
Anon
2009-Aug-25 12:11 pm
Population DensityWhy is that cool? Its basic population density. There are more people per square mile in the east than in the west. It costs a heck of a lot more money to deploy service when your customers live miles and miles apart! | |
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Re: Population DensityOr less. Wireless gear is pretty cheap these days ($150 for a radio + antenna etc.) however it requires relatively clean spectrum. Which is available in rural areas where you don't have the nation's largest WiFi network at your disposal (linksys). | |
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TransmasterDon't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus join:2001-06-20 Cheyenne, WY |
Big supriseWyoming is 47th. Well if I lived in Woods Landing, Wyoming I could care less about the internet anyway. Being able to walk into my back yard and fly fish for dinner would make twitter, and face book a total waste of time. | |
| | ••• | MacBridgerLate to the party Premium Member join:2001-01-11 Morgantown, WV |
Zip CodeSomething to note, their map goes by zip code. In some states, WV for instance, a zip code can cover a huge area. That doesn't mean that the whole area is covered by broadband. I noticed several areas that they had only 1 test for. (Including my own under/unserved zip) | |
| | •••••• | jmn1207 Premium Member join:2000-07-19 Sterling, VA |
jmn1207
Premium Member
2009-Aug-25 1:49 pm
Looking GoodA 1.6 Mbps increase over a couple of years is nearly a 50% improvement. If we continue at this pace we will be on track much sooner than what is being reported. I don't anticipate us making only 1.6 Mbps increases every 2-3 years, but rather a 50% increase in current average speeds. It shouldn't take us 15 years to catch up. | |
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Inaccurate Speed testYou know when the speed test they use is inaccurate, this does no good.
I have a 12 Mbps connection, Normally get about 11.6 Mbps, with there speedtest I was just above 8 Mbps.
So what good does it do when the tool they use to figure out these results is inaccurate. | |
| | 88615298 (banned) join:2004-07-28 West Tenness |
88615298 (banned)
Member
2009-Aug-25 2:57 pm
Re: Inaccurate Speed testsaid by dlewis23:You know when the speed test they use is inaccurate, this does no good. I have a 12 Mbps connection, Normally get about 11.6 Mbps, with there speedtest I was just above 8 Mbps. So what good does it do when the tool they use to figure out these results is inaccurate. I found thier test to be accurate as other. Just test speakeasy 13.4 Mbps, chater speedtest 14.4, theirs 13.7 Mbps | |
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antdudeMatrix Ant Premium Member join:2001-03-25 US |
antdude
Premium Member
2009-Aug-25 3:00 pm
Cool reports.» www.speedmatters.org/con ··· 09report is cool. I can't find one for 2008 and 2007 by replacing their year's last digit. Does anyone know where it is? Thank you in advance. | |
| MadnessLike a flea circus at a dog show join:2000-01-05 Lynn, MA |
Side NoteI'm more-than-curious about why one would need such uber-fast BB connections in the first place. One certainly doesn't need it for basic web surfing & email! The only things I can think of are P2P & a "family" home network. | |
| | toddbs98 join:2000-07-08 North Little Rock, AR |
Re: Side NoteA universal broadband plan giving every American access to the Internet would be socialism and something only Hitler and other Nazi's would endorse just like Universal health care. These people should be proud Americans a be glad to get whatever corporate America decides they need at the highest possible price. | |
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Rob 23
Anon
2009-Aug-25 4:28 pm
Affordable I think the whole point of the report is " AFFORDABLE SPEED". Its what people have, not what's available, lowest price DSL and low price cable HSI at 1.5 and 8mbps will at a 50-50 split give you a 5mbps avg. YES you can get faster speeds but not at a price that people are "gonna" pay, just to check E-MAIL. Telecom labor union-backed group = lots of discount dsl users to participate in the group. | |
| Noah VailOh God please no. Premium Member join:2004-12-10 SouthAmerica |
Russia is a G20 member.said by Karl Bode:The group, with an obvious interest in increased broadband deployment, has long lamented the fact that the US is only industrialized country without a national policy... So where do I go to find the National Broadband Policies for Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Argentina or Mexico? NV | |
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SpeedThis report should be viewed with a grain of salt. Distance to test point has a large impact on discoved data. I can take a speed test to my carriers local switch station 10 miles away or a dept of energy test site 1 mile away and get speed figures within 5% of the cap I pay to achieve. If I take another test in s korea I'm only getting 35% of my speed. I see no way you can set a standard for the results that are being reported, nor did I see an explanation of how they standardized their test results across the countries they tested. Of course many other factors play a role in the speed that broadband connections achieve. Most importantly, the choice to have a cheap and realitively slow connection. I know my isp will sell a $20 1.5 meg connection or a $65 20 meg connection and many speeds in between.
I'm curious to see what speeds are on the 4g cell networks when they start rolling out. I saw that DoCoMo reached 5/gb in tests about 6 months ago. I also wonder if they will start marketing to consumers or businesses for non-mobile access. I can't fathom a smartphone that could put speeds of that measure to any practical use. | |
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