When it comes to broadband speeds, US internet service providers (ISPs) largely deliver on promises, says a report by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), but 'throughput' is only one of several metrics listed in the report that affect network performance. ISPs should provide a broadband 'nutrition label', easy-to-understand information about service-limiting factors, and users need better ways of measuring the performance of their ISPs, says a study by the Georgia Tech College of Computing.
Out of around two billion internet users worldwide, about 500 million are residential broadband users. These customers' throughput—the 'width' of their internet pipeline—lives up to speeds advertised by their ISPs, says the report, 'Measuring Broadband America'. However, many home internet users simultaneously run multiple applications that use network resources.