FCC Report Highlights Huge Disparity in Cable, DSL Speeds An annual FCC study indicates that overall broadband speeds continue to rise and that most broadband providers deliver the speeds they advertise, even though DSL providers continue to dramatically lag behind their cable counterparts. The full study (pdf) notes that the median broadband speed of all ISPs measured by the FCC has almost quadrupled, from approximately 10 Mbps in March 2011, to approximately 39 Mbps in September 2015. The lion's share of those speed increases are thanks to the relatively inexpensive deployment of faster DOCSIS 3.0 (and now 3.1) cable broadband speeds.

We've noted for some time how these FCC reports have nudged ISPs to over-provision their tiers to avoid being named and shamed. The FCC's first such report in 2011 found that just 80% of ISPs delivered advertised speeds; ISPs that were singled out were quick to improve their rankings. If there's a problem, it's that DSL providers are failing to keep pace with cable provider speeds. "The report finds a growing disparity in advertised download speeds between many DSL-based broadband services and most cable- and fiber-based broadband services," notes the FCC. "Average DSL speeds have increased only slightly over the past five years and satellite speeds, over a shorter time interval, have remained constant." That's in part because incumbent phone companies like AT&T and Verizon refuse to upgrade huge swaths of their networks as they instead focus on content and advertising. Smaller telcos, like Windstream, Frontier, or CenturyLink, have only selectively upgraded their networks as well, resulting in a large number of DSL customers that can't even technically get the FCC's 25 Mbps definition of broadband. We've noted how as a result, cable providers are adding about 99% of the net broadband subscriber additions each quarter as users flock to faster cable options. Because many of these users find that bundling TV and broadband is often cheaper than broadband alone, this is also helping traditional cable operators weather cord cutting better than their telco competitors. "We find that, over the course of our reports, the average annual increase in median download speeds by technology (is) 47% for cable, and 14% for fiber, while popular DSL speeds have remained largely the same," notes the agency. All told, the FCC notes that two-thirds of American homes still don't have the option of more than one broadband provider at speeds greater than 25 Mbps. As these telcos fail to provide adequate competition cable providers are effectively building a stronger broadband monopoly than ever before. With less competitive pressure, they're less likely to offer better rates (the FCC generally turns a blind eye to pricing in these reports) or improve poor customer service. If you're interested, you can find the FCC's full report If you're interested, you can find the FCC's full report here







News Jump WISPs Get CBRS Range As Great As Six Miles At 100 Mbps Speeds; Windstream Officially Exits Bankruptcy; + more news Charter Relaunches Free 60-day Internet And Wi-Fi Offer; NCTA: FCC Should Stick With 25/3 Speed Threshold; + more news Comcast Shuts Off Internet for Subs Who Were Sold Service Illegally; AT&T, Verizon Team To Stop T-Mobile 5G; + more news California Defends Its Net Neutrality Law; AT&T's Traffic Up 20% Despite Data Traffic Actually Being Down; + more news Are The Comcast-Charter X1 Talks Dead In The Water?; AT&T May Offer Phone Plans With Ads For Discounts; + more news Europe's Top Court: Net Neutrality Rules Bar Zero Rating; ViacomCBS To Rebrand CBS All Access As Paramount+; + more news Verizon To Buy Reseller TracFone For $7B; 5G Not The Competitive Threat To Cable Many Thought It Would Be; + more news MS.Wants Records From AT&T On $300M Project; Google Fiber Outages In Austin, Houston, Other Texan Cities; + more news States With The Biggest Decreases In Speed; AT&T Hopes You'll Forget Its Fight Against Accurate Maps; + more news AT&T's CEO Has A Familiar $olution To US Broadband Woes; EarthLink Files Suit Against Charter; + more news ---------------------- this week last week most discussed

Most recommended from 65 comments

zod5000

join:2003-10-21

Victoria, BC ·TELUS

·Shaw

19 recommendations zod5000 Member I don't get DSL providers.



I'm here in Western Canada and our Telco is slowly replacing copper with fibre, because they know if they don't, they'll lose their internet customers. How do you not make money on the internet? lol.



Cableco's must be laughing all the way to the bank Internet is something almost everyone in a 1st world country uses now. How do you make the decision that it's not important and stop competing on it (ie stop upgrading your infrastructure to keep with the times).I'm here in Western Canada and our Telco is slowly replacing copper with fibre, because they know if they don't, they'll lose their internet customers. How do you not make money on the internet? lol.Cableco's must be laughing all the way to the bank

ham3843

join:2015-01-15

USA 12 recommendations ham3843 Member Third world service in the First World reporting in! I have AT&T 768/128k service and pay 41.00$/mo.

DHRacer

Tech Monkey

join:2000-10-10

Lake Arrowhead, CA 11 recommendations DHRacer Member Simple Fix No further mergers and acquisitions are approved for any telco provider until DSL speeds to all customers meet the FCC's definition of broadband. Ergo, spend all your billions in profits on improving your core services and not wasting it on things that do not help you retain customers. What are all the investors thinking?



tegelad

join:2002-09-18

Whitesboro, TX 2 recommendations tegelad Member It depends on the infrastructure It comes down to the CO and the primary backhaul from the spoke to the main infrastructure. The technology is good enough if they pick the right modem configuration to deliver the goods the last mile, presuming the copper is in suitable state. The crux comes when they try to push out of the CO and then on to whatever their backhaul. For example, the provider could have several hundred to a thousand DSL subscribers that sit on a dual redundant OC-3 ... but as we know ... if 10-12 of those modems light up at full speed that OC-3 is shot. If they go active/active ... 20-24 reaches it at maximum



That is why the 5G push they talk about is so laughable. if a few hundred DSL subscribers can effectively tap out an OC circuit, how the hell will wireless with a large base support it?



E.g. Verizon can't support 4G coverage in Northern Texas at all ... we are talking 60 mile by 20 mile range and it only works near the main distribution hubs where the speeds kick in if you are lucky.



So DSL given the lack of Fibre to Copper setup due to the primary telco's milking it for a decade has created a technical debt that leads to heavy oversubscription. I will give the hat off to Frontier for trying, but as people will point out, they are debt loaded ... so how will they be able to handle the upgrades and right grades? So guess what that means ... folks are stuck and it truly sucks ....