Wednesday, October 20, 2010

ISP Advertised Speeds Found Accurate

There's been no small discussion recently about the use of "up to" in advertising broadband speeds. When ISP's publish rates "up to" a certain speed, how often does the connection actually get up to that speed, for how long, and for how many subscribers. That's what the FCC wanted to find out recently, and what consumers want to make sure is being advertised honestly.

So, is it?

An independent study says, "yes!" Ookla--the brains behind such testing services as pingtest.net and speedtest.net-- decided to do some comparisons recently. They charted advertised speeds in over 100 countries against the actual broadband speeds the end users experience on average. What they found may shock you... honesty.

That's right. They're report "concludes that Americans get 92.91 percent of their advertised throughput rate" (ARS Technica, 10/2010). In short, we get what we pay for over 90% of the time--a stat that the telecommunications industry is sure glad to tout. The global study puts the U.S. 11th among the 26 countries tested, led primarily by former Soviet nations in Eastern Europe. According to Ookla's standings, the U.S. leads Western European nations such as the UK and France, who bottomed out the list at 25th and 26th respectively--delivering honest speeds less than two-thirds of the time.

So, what does this mean for business? First and foremost, it ought to (but still might not) quiet some of the accusations levied against the telecom industry at large. Why might it not? Because of exactly what the report says: nearly 8% of customers don't get what they think they're buying. In this debate, we have what many would call a "loud minority" petitioning for justice on behalf of what is likely to be a select few perpetrators in advertising. The reality is that most ISP's are honest, most customers get what they pay for, and still a few sour apples are spoiling the bunch.

Ookla's report, while encouraging, should not stop the efforts of the telecom industry to continue pushing for honesty. False advertising, however rare, must be addressed no matter what industry it is in. However, consumers of broadband services can rest assured--at least 90% sure, that is--that the rates they think they're getting are being delivered.

Labels: Advertising, Broadband, Broadband Speed, FCC, Ookla, Published Rates, Telecommunication