The first nationwide study to test the performance of broadband Internet providers is showing many companies do not provide speeds customers are paying for. The study was conducted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and includes results from 13 tests in March 2011.
The FCC summarized its findings in three separate charts. It is based on performance when the most users are online “since this is the period of time when service performance is likely to suffer and it is also the period of highest utilization by the average consumer,” it states. Peak times are from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., local time.
The study was on fixed home connections (not mobile), and focused on three technologies: digital subscriber line (DSL), cable, and fiber-to-the-home.
