Earlier this month, Ookla, the company responsible for Speedtest.net (one of the two online speed tests available on the FCC’s website Broadband.gov), started publishing a “Household Promise Index” that is designed to measure the gap between actual and advertised “up to” broadband speeds.  The results?  On average, Ookla reports that U.S. consumers are receiving roughly 93% of the advertised speeds on the tiers to which they subscribe.  And in many regions, that figure exceeds 100% – i.e., customers are getting faster speeds than the “up to” speeds they’ve signed up for.  The Ookla data may help explain why a recent FCC survey found that over 90% of consumers are happy with the broadband speeds they’re receiving.

That sounds like pretty good news – networks are performing by and large as they should and, as a result, consumers are happy.  It certainly is welcome (although not surprising) news to NCTA’s members – and should be to policymakers as well.  With the FCC and others devoting significant attention to promoting broadband adoption, data that demonstrates the fundamental value proposition of broadband should be tremendously helpful in overcoming the reluctance that some Americans continue to feel about signing up for broadband service.

The new Ookla data provides a sharp contrast to the National Broadband Plan’s estimate, based on data from a company named comScore, of a “50% gap” between actual and advertised broadband speeds.  Without going into too much detail (those interested can follow this link), the comScore data was flawed on both ends of the equation.  It overestimated the speed of the “service tiers” to which consumers actually subscribed and also underestimated the speeds that consumers actually receive – thereby creating an alleged “gap” between advertised and delivered performance that lacks any sound factual basis.  A recent MIT study confirmed that there are a number of “potentially significant sources of measurement error” that caution against using the comScore data to reach any conclusions about ISP service performance.

Admittedly, the Ookla data is not a perfect measure of network performance either.  The Ookla data, like the comScore data, are based on user-generated speed tests and suffer from some of the same weaknesses.  Both systems measure the long and winding road from a consumer’s computer to a test server somewhere on the Internet.  Although ISPs control only a portion of that road, speeds can be impeded anywhere along the route (e.g., within the home computer, the home network, or on the open Internet).  But while the Ookla and comScore data share some of the same weaknesses, the MIT study found that “the Ookla/Speedtest test methodology is more likely than the other tests we examine to correspond to the speed of an access link for common network usage patterns.”

To its credit, the FCC has contracted with a company called SamKnows to conduct a hardware-based test that should eliminate many of the problems associated with online speed tests.  NCTA and many of our member companies have been working closely with SamKnows and the FCC staff on that testing process, which is expected to begin in the near future.

But as we wait for the collaborative development of even better measures of broadband performance, it’s worth noting Ookla’s independent assessment and the continuing efforts of cable ISPs to meet their customers’ expectations.

NOTE: Steven Morris is Vice President and Associate General Counsel for the National Cable & Telecommunications Association. If you are interested in this topic, you may want to read these related posts:

• Glass 95% Full? The Broadband Report’s Mixed Bag
• Consumers Note Broadband Satisfaction
• Measuring the Speed of Value

While the enormous growth and progress of U.S. broadband over the last decade continues to be under-appreciated by some in Washington, real consumers who use the service everyday continue to express their satisfaction with their service.

The latest data comes via a report from Leichtman Research Group, finding that, “71% of US broadband Internet subscribers are very satisfied with their current Internet service at home.”  On top of that, the report says people are even pleased with the speed of their Internet connection.

If this sounds familiar, the FCC’s own broadband study which we covered here a few weeks ago that said 91% of home broadband users report being at least somewhat satisfied with the speed of their service (with 50% saying they are very satisfied).  Also similar to the FCC’s survey, the Leichtman research notes, “77% of broadband subscribers do not know the download speed of their Internet service at home.”

This last data point raises an interesting question – If consumers are satisfied with their broadband service and it performs the functions they want, is it important to know the exact speed of your home broadband service?

The Institute for Policy Innovation recently tackled this question and raised some interesting analogies:

Can most people rattle off the horsepower of their car or their lawnmower? Can most people even tell you what “horsepower” means? (Horsepower is a measurement of work over time. Move 33,000 pounds one foot in a minute and that is one horsepower). What about their furnace? Can they opine on how many BTUs it produces? (BTU stands for British thermal unit. Heat one pound of 60 degree water by one degree at a pressure equal to one atmosphere and you have one BTU).

I am guessing that people are satisfied with their service because it consistently works, it consistently zips along at a pace that accomplishes what the user is trying to do, and it consistently helps them with school, business and entertainment activities.

It is great news that most consumers are satisfied with their Internet service, but cable is continuing to invest so we can offer even faster Internet speeds and a variety of tiers for consumers to choose the service that best meets their needs.

Cable operators have invested more than $160 billion over the last decade in infrastructure upgrades, maintenance and equipment, but more is happening everyday.  And many cable operators are increasing speeds for customers, often without increasing price.

Ultra-fast Internet – or DOCSIS 3.0 as we know it – was deployed to 52 million homes and business around the country, or 43% of cable’s national footprint, by February 2010.  Offering speeds from 50 to 100Mbps, DOCSIS 3.0 is providing cutting edge services for many homes and businesses now, and well into the future.

The reason why we continue to invest in our network and increase the speeds we’re delivering is to ensure this satisfaction continues.

On Tuesday, the FCC announced the results of a survey, showing that “four out of five home broadband users say they do not know the speed of their home internet connection.”

This received a lot of coverage (see this Ars Technica post), but lost in all the hubbub were the findings on consumer satisfaction: 91% of home broadband users report being at least somewhat satisfied with the speed of their service.

• 50% of home broadband users are very satisfied with their home connection speed.
• 41% of home broadband users are somewhat satisfied with their home connection speed.

How Do We Measure Satisfaction?

So, people generally don’t know their speed, but they are largely satisfied. Are these findings at odds? I don’t think so.

I’m a pretty savvy Internet user, but I couldn’t tell you off the top of my head what the speed of my Comcast home connection is. We also have Comcast here at NCTA’s offices, so I can check Speedtest.net and tell you I’m getting 35.74Mbs down / 4Mbs up. A colleague checked it earlier today and got 45 down / 6 up.

But I had to check to get those figures, because I don’t really need to know the speed I’m getting. What I’m interested in is whether I’m having a satisfactory experience. Are web pages loading? Is my streaming video buffering too much?

As NCTA has explained (See this previous post: The Measure of “Measurement”), and the FCC has acknowledged, online speed tests can provide a measure of the speed that a user experiences, but they do not necessarily provide an accurate measure of the performance of a user’s broadband provider because the results also are affected by the performance of home networks and the public Internet.

Occasionally, I’ll download really large files, but I don’t use any low latency applications. Therefore, for email, web browsing and streaming media, a steady connection covers my needs. My Internet experience is also affected by the computer I’m using and the sites I visit, which can only load the content so quickly in any case.

And since my cable provider keeps periodically increasing the speed of my cable modem service at home, I don’t keep up with what it is at any given point (although I know I passed 10 Mps some time ago). As long as it works and I can do all the things I need to do, I don’t otherwise pay attention.

The FCC’s survey suggests that the vast majority of users may have a similar view. In that sense, it is worth noting that the survey seems to present a very different – and more accurate – picture than you would get if you only read the comments that are posted on blogs that cover this issue.

The Future of Fast

Some people need a super-fast connection or do need to worry about latency, such as gamers. And as such applications as telemedicine or high-definition teleconferencing become more prevalent, more people will fall into this category. In the future, I may pay much closer attention to the speed I receive.

Cable operators appreciate that different consumers may need different levels of service and that some customers may be more concerned with the specific details of their service than others. That’s why NCTA has been working closely with the FCC on the testing initiative announced on Tuesday. The SamKnows test should be a good starting point in developing a common method by which all broadband providers can measure the speed they deliver to consumers.

But the reason 80% of users don’t know the speed of their connection may be because that’s not how they measure satisfaction.