FCC Report: 'Significant' Growth in Advertised Broadband Speeds, 'Growing Disparity' Between DSL-, Cable-Based Services
Average maximum advertised download speeds of participating ISPs almost doubled from September 2013 to September 2014, but a "growing disparity" has begun to emerge between download speeds of DSL and cable broadband services, the FCC said in its 2015 Measuring Broadband America Fixed Broadband Report. The report, reflecting speed data collected in September 2014 on 13 ISPs, showed a 94 percent increase from the previous report -- 37.2 Mbps to 72 Mbps -- in the average maximum download speeds offered by the participating service providers. Actual speeds seen by "most ISPs' subscribers" to cable, fiber or satellite service are "close to or exceed" advertised speeds, the report said.
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"Today’s report confirms that advances in network technology are yielding significant improvements in broadband speeds and quality,” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said. “Faster, better broadband will unleash new innovations and new services to improve the lives of the American people. This comprehensive assessment of broadband performance helps to keep consumers informed and hold ISPs accountable.” The FCC report, which measured data from the homes of 5,583 panelists receiving service from the 13 participating ISPs, documented an increase in maximum advertised download speeds among providers' most popular service tiers -- from 12-30 Mbps in 2011 to 50-105 Mbps in September 2014.
The increase in download speeds advertised by ISPs and the uptake of higher speeds by consumers is "not uniform across technologies," the report said, citing mostly "stagnant" download speeds among DSL providers. "The maximum advertised download speeds ... tested among the most popular service tiers offered by ISPs using DSL technology has remained generally unchanged since 2011," the FCC said. "There is a growing disparity in most download speeds tested between many DSL-based broadband services and most cable-based broadband services."
DSL-based services were the least likely on average to provide 100 percent or more of their advertised download and upload speeds, compared with cable, fiber and satellite services, the report said. AT&T U-Verse and certain tiers of Verizon DSL were the only participating DSL services found to meet or exceed 100 percent of advertised download or upload speeds. For each ISP there are some subscribers whose actual upload speed falls significantly short of the advertised upload speed, the report said, and "relatively few subscribers" to cable, fiber or satellite broadband service experience such shortfalls. "However, the data suggest that many of the subscribers of some [ISPs'] DSL broadband service[s] often experience actual upload speeds that fall substantially short of advertised upload speeds," the report said.
Some ISPs providing DSL service disagreed with some of the FCC findings. Frontier, which offers both DSL and fiber service and voluntarily participated in the commission's report, said the report doesn't reflect the company's current service. "This data is very stale," Frontier Senior Vice President Steve Crosby told us Wednesday. "The statistical part of the report was done over a year ago [and] Frontier has continued to invest in [its] network." Frontier DSL, said the report, had the highest percentage of latency among participating ISPs, and the largest percentage of panelists -- nearly 40 percent -- whose download speeds were 80 percent or less of Frontier DSL's advertised speed. Crosby said the company hears "very positive things from consumers" and the report doesn't take into account the company's significant amount of broadband provided to rural areas not reached by other large ISPs. "The report is what it is, but we think the information is stale," Crosby said. "I don't think [the report] is reflective of [our service], but I can't dispute it." Crosby said because Frontier does provide service to areas largely untouched by other ISPs, reports such as the FCC's are "really not an apples to apples comparison."
Windstream also criticized the FCC report. "The results are 18 months old and don’t reflect the substantial investments Windstream made to further increase speeds and access," Windstream Vice President-Corporate Affairs David Fish told us. "The company was steady over the periods measured and delivered performance similar to that of other carriers." The report shows Windstream as having the highest percentage -- more than 40 percent -- of consumers of participating ISPs whose actual upload speeds were less than 80 percent of advertised upload speeds.
The report also documented fixed broadband speeds by region and by state, finding New Jersey and Connecticut to be at the top of the list, while Arizona, Idaho and Ohio were at the bottom of the list of average download speeds. The Northeast region has the fastest download speeds, both advertised and actual, for cable and fiber service, but the slowest for both DSL and satellite services, the report said.