FCC Broadband Report Shows Verizon And ViaSat Leading Competition
We've all seen the reports that show the U.S. lagging behind quite a few other nations in terms of national average broadband speed (we're looking at you, South Korea), but the FCC now has a report out that details the best and the brightest available to American citizens. Of course, most people aren't able to look at a report, weigh their options, and then choose an ISP. Most times, only one or two ISPs are available in a given area, so we're stuck with a take-it-or-leave-it scenario. But for those lucky enough to have those options, the results from the 2013 Measuring Broadband America are certainly worth paying attention to.
The program has been ongoing since the middle of 2011, and it's described as a rigorous, nationwide study of residential broadband performance in the United States. This study, like those conducted before, involves actual performance tests for thousands of subscribers of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) serving well over 80 percent of the residential market. In the most recent study, ViaSat is being included for the first time. That's a big inclusion, as it's one of the first high-speed satellite-based ISPs to be included. Furthermore, ViaSat ranked quite highly, proving that its upload and download speeds were very close to those advertised.
That Report found that five ISPs routinely delivered nearly one hundred percent or greater of the speed advertised to the consumer, even during time periods when bandwidth demand was at its peak, while the average ISP delivered 96 percent of advertised download speed during peak usage periods. On the more traditional front, Verizon's fiber-based FiOS took home the crown, which isn't surprising. Unfortunately, Verizon has no plans to expand FiOS beyond the 13 states that have it now, so it's a bit like rubbing salt in the wound for everyone else.
Hit the Via link to see where your ISP stacks up -- thinking about changing now that you've got some numbers in front of you?
The program has been ongoing since the middle of 2011, and it's described as a rigorous, nationwide study of residential broadband performance in the United States. This study, like those conducted before, involves actual performance tests for thousands of subscribers of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) serving well over 80 percent of the residential market. In the most recent study, ViaSat is being included for the first time. That's a big inclusion, as it's one of the first high-speed satellite-based ISPs to be included. Furthermore, ViaSat ranked quite highly, proving that its upload and download speeds were very close to those advertised.
That Report found that five ISPs routinely delivered nearly one hundred percent or greater of the speed advertised to the consumer, even during time periods when bandwidth demand was at its peak, while the average ISP delivered 96 percent of advertised download speed during peak usage periods. On the more traditional front, Verizon's fiber-based FiOS took home the crown, which isn't surprising. Unfortunately, Verizon has no plans to expand FiOS beyond the 13 states that have it now, so it's a bit like rubbing salt in the wound for everyone else.
Hit the Via link to see where your ISP stacks up -- thinking about changing now that you've got some numbers in front of you?
