U.S. Broadband speeds closer to claims

A new report from the FCC on broadband speeds for various services shows that operators are getting pretty close to achieving peak demand data rates that match advertised speeds.The report finds services are now achieving 96% of the advertised speed, compared to only 87% last year

  Before going on, let me note that the small print on the speed claims indicates that they are for off-peak use.  Also, there are differences in how different broadband technologies handle periods of high demand - some are designed to accommodate peak demand by sharing available bandwidth, which will slow the apparent speeds for individual customers.  For example, DSL-based services delivered peak speeds averaging 84% of what was advertised, cable-based services delivered 99%, and fiber-to-the-home over-delivered at 117%.
  The FCC found significant improvement in delivered vs. advertised speeds over the last year, across a variety of metrics and scenarios.  That's good news and reflects the growing improvement and expansion of broadband infrastructure.  The full report is available through the link below.
  Being able to count on reaching advertised speeds, particularly during peak usage, can be critical for online video consumers - particularly those wanting to watch HD-quality content.  While standard definition video streams at 1-2 Mbps, a single 1080p HD video can require 5Mbps or more.  With most people subscribing to high-speed broadband services advertising speeds of 6-10 Mbps, achieving those actual speeds can be the difference between watching a clean stream with little delay, or long delays and possible interruptions or breakdowns in the stream.

Source  -  Gap narrows between advertised, actual Internet service speeds, finds FCC report,  Broadcast Engineering
FCC Report  -  A Report on Consumer Wireline Broadband Performance in the U.S.