As part of the National Broadband Plan the FCC was tasked with providing more transparency in broadband information for consumers. Their latest Measuring Broadband America report tests large ISP claims of advertised speeds versus actual speeds, latency, and web page download times. This article summarizes the report and gives major findings related to web performance including:
The Bandwidth Report Category: Quality of Service
Rural States Go Wireless – US Wireless Broadband Penetration Study, October 2011 Bandwidth Report
Despite the Obama administration’s promise of “universal access” to broadband in the US, rural areas have been left behind in wired broadband availability. To close this “broadband gap” low-population-density rural areas are adopting wireless broadband faster than urban areas, according to a recent study by Georgetown University (Macher & Mayo 2011). Will spectrum supply keep up with demand?
The Benefits of Broadband – June 2011 Bandwidth Report
The Broadband Commission for Digital Development was created to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals by the target date of 2015, as set by the United Nations. Towards that end, it is essential that countries everywhere are enabled with widespread broadband to reap the economic and social benefits of broadband. This article explores the benefits that broadband brings.
Over 2 Billion Internet Users Worldwide – Wireless Broadband 30% Slower than Wired – March 2011 Bandwidth Report
Last month’s Bandwidth Report discussed wireless broadband penetration. This month we look at the spread of fixed broadband and Internet penetration, as well the performance cost of going wireless. Europe leads the world in fixed broadband and Internet penetration, just as it leads in mobile broadband peentration.
US Broadband Speed 18th Worldwide – Delaware Broadband Fastest – US Broadband Penetration at 93.3% Among Active Internet Users – August 2009 Bandwidth Report
The US came in 18th among all countries surveyed in average connection speed, growing at about half the worldwide average increase over the past year. Within the US, Delaware had the fastest connection speed among the 50 states, averaging more than 7Mb per second. Washington and Georgia top the list in Internet penetration per capita, according to a recent survey by Akamai. Worldwide, South Korea continues to lead all countries in average connection speed at 11Mbps. Meanwhile, broadband penetration among active Internet users grew to 93.3% in July 2009.
UK to pass Canada in Broadband Penetration in 2008 – US Broadband Penetration Grows to 91.8% among Active Internet Users – October 2008 Bandwidth Report
The UK will pass Canada in broadband penetration for the top spot among G7 countries in 2008. The UK’s higher growth rate will propel them past Canada in late 2008, according to projections by Website Optimization. While the US showed a higher growth rate in year over year broadband uptake, it remains in 15th place worldwide in broadband penetration. Japan and Korea now have more broadband subscribers on fiber than on DSL or cable. Among active Internet users, broadband penetration in the US grew to 91.8% in September 2008, up 0.26 percentage points over last month.
OECD Broadband Report Questioned – US Broadband Penetration Grows to 81.8% Among Active Internet Users – May 2007 Bandwidth Report
In our April bandwidth report we reported that the US dropped to 15th out of 30 countries surveyed by the OECD. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) says that the broadband penetration data reported by the OECD is not an adequate measure of a nation’s relative position in broadband technology. The ITIF suggests that adding speed and price to the equation would show a more complete picture of a nation’s broadband rankings. Calculated in this way the US ranks 12th in global broadband penetration, two spots behind Canada at 10th overall (see Table 1). Turkey paid the highest price for high-speed broadband at $115.76 per month while Japan paid the least for high-speed broadband service at $0.27 per month.
Apple’s iTunes Player Climbs Streaming Media Charts – PC Time Tracks Broadband Penetration – US Broadband Penetration Jumps to 68% Among Active Internet Users – March 2006 Bandwidth Report
Podcasting is taking off, according to recent data from Nielsen//NetRatings and Apple. Unique users of Apple’s iTunes player passed QuickTime in mid-2005, and at current growth rates iTunes should pass RealPlayer by mid-2006. People are tuning in over twice as long with iTunes than with RealPlayer or Windows Media Player. US broadband penetration jumped 1.33 percentage points in February 2006 to 68% among active Internet users. At current growth rates broadband penetration should break 70% in April of 2006.
Internet Videos Spawn Performance Anxiety – Rural-Urban Broadband Gap Closing – US Broadband Penetration at 66.7% Among Active Internet Users – February 2006 Bandwidth Report
Streaming media is hot, but servers and users are even hotter. As higher bandwidth content streams to more bandwidth-hungry users quality of service can suffer. Some industry experts are wondering if the existing infrastructure can scale to handle the load. Meanwhile, the rural-urban broadband gap is closing according to PEW Internet. The US continued its inexorable climb to 66.67% in broadband penetration among active Internet users in January 2006.