Report: US Consumers more savvy about broadband options
MARCH 5, 2008 -- US consumers are becoming aware of the limitations that some broadband service connections provide, particularly in regard to available bandwidth, reports In-Stat (search for In-Stat).
"As a general rule of thumb in the broadband world, higher bandwidth is better," says Mike Paxton, In-Stat analyst. "Consumers readily recognize this fact, and many of them are actively looking for a broadband service that will increase the amount of bandwidth that they can use."
In order to determine US residential broadband speeds, In-Stat recently surveyed over 700 broadband households. These households use several different types of broadband access technologies, to include cable modem service, DSL, fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), satellite broadband, and fixed wireless. A key part of this survey consisted of the households taking a broadband "speed test" administered by an online bandwidth measurement site. The results of this survey included:
- The average downstream speed of a US broadband connection is 3.8 Mbits/sec, while the average upstream speed is 980 kbits/sec.
- FTTH connections offer the fastest broadband speeds, followed by cable modem and DSL connections. The average downstream FTTH speed was 8.8 Mbits/sec, while cable modem connections averaged 4.9 Mbits/sec and DSL averaged 2.1 Mbits/sec.
- The average monthly price for broadband service is currently just over $38.
- Over 83% of respondents to the In-Stat consumer survey stated they were either "very satisfied" or "somewhat satisfied" with their current connection.
The price is $1,495 (US).
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