Posted on 08/12/2008 4:01:20 PM PDT by Smogger
While U.S. broadband providers continue to boost speeds for their subscribers, they still are falling behind the broadband deployment efforts of many other nations, according to survey of 230,000 U.S. Internet users. The survey, conducted by the Communications Workers of America, indicates also that population density can be a factor in providing broadband " Rhode Island, the smallest state geographically in the union, has the fastest median download speed with 6.8 Mbps while Alaska, the largest, has the slowest at 0.8 Mbps. Internet users in the survey took the CWA's Speed Matters Speed Test.
The median download speed in the U.S. is 2.35 Mbps. Densely populated Japan has an eye-popping 63.60 Mbps, according to figures from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. "This isn't about how fast someone can download a full-length movie," said CWA president Larry Cohen in a statement. "Speed matters to our economy and our ability to remain competitive in a global marketplace. Rural development, telemedicine, and distance learning all rely on truly high-speed, universal networks."
States with relatively high population densities led the CWA's survey. The first ranked state was Rhode Island with 6.8 Mbps high broadband speeds followed by Delaware with 6.7 Mbps; New Jersey, 5.8 Mbps; Virginia, 5.0 Mbps; and Massachusetts, 4.6 Mbps. The slowest speeds were recorded by states with large rural populations -- Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota and Alaska.
To improve broadband reception in rural and lower-income areas, the CWA and some government and public policy organizations have suggested that the Universal Service Fund be reformed to support build-out of broadband in underserved communities.
The CWA also pointed to public-private partnerships in Ohio and Kentucky as models of state and local governments working with telecommunications companies, schools and libraries to improve broadband delivery. Kentucky's "Prescription for Innovation", launched in the primarily rural state in 2004, boosted broadband adoption in the state by an 83% growth rate compared with the national rate of 57%.
The CWA's Speed Matters project enables individual users to test the speed of their online connections by sending a request to their nearest server to measure the time it takes to receive a response. Survey data is based on tests carried out from May 2007 to May 2008. The CWA said the tests do not measure actual transfer speeds of files over the Internet.
The CWA's survey apparently consists of data from Internet users who took the CWA's Speed Matters Speed Test ( http://www.speedmatters.org/speed-test/ ). I took that test and I finished with a crummy 4.6 Mbps second according to the CWA. Meanwhile Speedtest.NET and the Speakeasy speed test place my download speed at the advertised 20 Mps I am paying for.
Hmmm.. Agenda indeed.
BTW: Speedtest.NET pegs the average download speed at NEC Big Globe Limited, who is Japan's FASTEST ISP on average, at around 24 Mbps NOT 63 Mbps.
Man, they can put ANYTHING sensational in a press release and reporters will by it hook line and sinker.
I don’t care what Japan has. For the most part it doesn’t matter if your download speed is rated at 5Mbps or 20Mbps most downloads that I have experienced come in below 1Mbps.The fastest I have ever downloaded anything was 1.5 Mbps from a movie site and my download is rated at 11Mbps.
The availability of broadband is a huge issue in rural areas. I’m somewhat fortunate in that I do have DSL. People only 2-3 miles away have no broadband alternative but the prohibitively expensive satellite services. The decision on who gets wired and who doesn’t seems arbitrary, even capricious. There are people way out in the boondocks who have broadband, and others practically inside the city limits who can’t get it, and won’t for the forseeable future.
This article is a crock of feces.
It not the slow speed...the porn files are bigger, thus it just takes longer to download.
Here in CO Springs, Qwest is offering a 20 Mbps download speed -— in some areas. BFD! Let’em offer 20 Mbps surfing speed and I’ll sign up. Right its 896 Kbps max.
If customers demand it and are willing to pay for it, it will be built.
Currently, ratepayers are subsidizing antique analog wireline providers, which is incredibly stupid. The telcos have not accounted for billions of dollars that should have been used for digital infrastructure upgrades.
The subsidies should be stopped, or at least used for digital infrastructure instead of obsolete POTS.
Broadband adoption/coverage has hit a milestone of sorts...yes rural access is and will always be an issue but for a huge swath of Americans if they want broadband they can get it.
That sounds like a positive but it isn’t. Like the cable companies that fleeced customers for decades while providing abysmal service and equipment, ISPs now enjoy an oligarchy and/or a de defacto monopoly and are behaving in familiar fashion.
Speeds should be much higher than they are....it is humorous to watch electronics retailers flog high-speed wireless equipment when bottlenecks exist courtesy of the ISPs.
My point is that the traffic-shaping that got Comcast in hot water and other tricks and threats from ISPs are not based in so-called fair use and anti-piracy as claimed but in a desire to avoid further investment and increases in bandwidth.
which would basically funnel government money into the hands of unionized broadband providers.
Fixed!
I checked into satellite but it was ridiculous. To make matters even worse, my dial-up is particularly slow. If I have to download something it usually does it at something like 2.9 KBS. Updates sometimes take hours.
This reminds me of the fretting in the 1980’s about us falling behind Japan in high definition TV. The Hi-Def that was being discussed was still analog, which was made obsolete by the newer digital technologies.
On a 1.5/512 DSL line. Works OK for my needs.
My speed registered at
9975 dl kbps
1227 up kbps
Cox highspeed internet
My Internet is running a little slow today:
Download Speed: 13477 kbps (1684.6 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 12714 kbps (1589.3 KB/sec transfer rate)
FIOS 20Mbps/20Mbps
I grew up in rural Western Wisconsin, and the cable company said it needed a minimum of 3 subscribers per mile to be profitable. We didn't even have 3 people per mile on the average, so we ended up with satellite TV.
- Traveler
” Densely populated Japan has an eye-popping 63.60 Mbps, “
NOT in the countryside of Japan where I be . I’ve got 1MB max and it is usually much slower - between 200 and 500KB .
I just got FIOS 20/5. Had to replace modem already. Today and yesterday took over 20 minutes for Powerline to load. Second time I just cancelled it. Speedtest.net says I’m getting just under 20 mips for download. I’m wondering if it’s Verizon’s servers.
” I live in one of those areas in which broadband is unavailable. Towns only 20 miles away have it and they pay no more than I do for dial-up.
I checked into satellite but it was ridiculous. To make matters even worse, my dial-up is particularly slow. If I have to download something it usually does it at something like 2.9 KBS. Updates sometimes take hours. “
I have the same problem , and I AM in Japan !
I feel for you. We just got DSL six months ago.
Download 5756, upload 362
Time Warner Cable
Simply not true. I have a 2mbit connection at home and get 256k/sec all the time. At work, we're on a number of 20mbit pipes that can on occasion download a 100mb file in 20-30 seconds but regularly download files at 1.5MEGABYTES a second, not mbits.
I also travel extensively and the best I've seen was essentially gigabit to the desktop over the internet from another high bandwidth site. Even in central America where we have a factory, our 4mbit connection can get files at 300-400k/sec.
It's a matter of technology. If WiMax lives up to its promise, it will put an end to the last-mile problem for everyone. But watch for the telcos to surreptitiously funnel money to the flat-earth lobby to file suits for "RF pollution" against WiMax broadband delivery.
Did anyone ever stop to think that maybe some consumers are satisfied with the speed they already have, or simply don’t want to spend more to get higher speed? I still have friends on 28k dialup! They are happy with what they have.
I guess pr0n demand just isn’t as high here...
12-13 MB on a 20MB line is abominable; looks as if there’s a throttle there someplace.
Verizon’s been pushing FiOS here too, but I don’t see the need to pay more than double my DSL price — I don’t have a need for it, and they already get too much for my Metro house phone and cellular.
Northland Cable TV - Broadband
NCTV
Washington, D.C.
Download Speed: 5981 kbps (747.6 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 245 kbps (30.6 KB/sec transfer rate)
Seattle, WA.
Download Speed: 5472 kbps (684 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 246 kbps (30.8 KB/sec transfer rate)
Atlanta, GA.
Download Speed: 5993 kbps (749.1 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 231 kbps (28.9 KB/sec transfer rate)
I could pay more for faster Broadband.
It's called "making a lifestyle decision". i just bought an old house that had to have cable strung to the house from the road - it had never been installed. But you had better believe thAT I checked on availability before buying the place. I'd live without flush toilets before I'd go back to dialup.
Virginia is not densely populated.
Advertized 6MBS line. 80 miles from the ISP and an end of line user. This DSL smokes compared to dialup. I hooked this up last Tuesday and am very happy with it now.
Download 13540
upload 741
Time Warner Turbo
These kids today... They’re spoiled freakin’ rotten.
Maybe everybody should have to spend their first ten years on the old Arpanet at 9600bps. Then they’d appreciate what they have.
Actually they are quite compressed at first, they get larger...oh nevermind.
LOL! 9600... Good times. I practically stole my first 9600 baud modem, a U.S. Robotics. Well actually I DID steal it, but that’s another story. That’s nothing a few of us remember when you had to steal the Internet, only colleges and military installations had it.
That's a little more like it. FIOS is the best thing since sliced bread, and worth every penny ($50) if you do a lot of downloading (I do.)
I just want everyone to know I pwn your download and upload speeds ;-)
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