U.S. Fixed Network Speeds Grew About 31% Over Last Year, Cable Speeds Grew Faster

U.S. fixed internet access provider speeds are growing, and arguably poised for faster growth, as leading providers push for introduction of gigabit per second speeds. Year over year, average speeds grew about 31 percent.

Cable TV operators have been in the lead, in terms of average speed. In fact, Comcast speed increases have grown nearly at Moore’s Law rates, doubling about every 18 months to two years, since about 1999.

Comcast was the internet service provider with the fastest overall speeds in the first half of 2017, but Verizon FiOS is moving up, according to Ookla Speedtest. But telcos generally lag cable in terms of highest average speed.

Verizon Fios’s significant spike in download and upload speeds in April directly correlates to their introduction of gigabit tier at an affordable $69 price point, Ookla notes.

The challenge for telcos is to find some way to match cable speed advances; in other words to reach improvement close to Moore’s Law rates.

source: Ookla Speedtest