{"id":6067,"date":"2013-01-28T06:30:07","date_gmt":"2013-01-28T11:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=6067"},"modified":"2016-09-29T14:51:09","modified_gmt":"2016-09-29T18:51:09","slug":"misleading-on-isp-speeds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=6067","title":{"rendered":"Misleading on ISP speeds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, PIAC released a report<\/a>\u00a0[full report<\/a> (1 MB pdf)] calling for better disclosure about speeds being delivered to subscribers of internet services. Increased transparency and knowledge about services is always a good thing. The report is a good read; it includes a discussion of the factors that can lead to misleading speed test readings from many of the commonly used measurement tools. Of the 6 recommendations in the report, many tie into recommendation number 5: “Greater consumer education is needed surrounding broadband advertising claims.”<\/p>\n

I agree. It is important for consumers to clearly understand what they can reasonably expect when subscribing to their telecommunications services.<\/p>\n

However, there is a particularly misleading chart in the PIAC report that warrants mention; that chart turned out to be the highlight of CBC’s coverage of the report. On page 25, the report says:<\/p>\n

data testing the measured download speed using the Network Diagnostic Test (NDT) tool on the Measurement Lab platform was compared against the data about advertised download speeds collected by the OECD in 2010. This chart shows that the OECD determined that the average advertised download speed in Canada according to 18 offers was 20.82 Mbps but 114,165 tests using the NDT tool showed an average measured download speed of 3.11 Mbps.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

CBC highlighted this in its coverage which was titled:\u00a0Advertised internet speeds not backed up by data<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For example, [PIAC Report co-author Janet] Lo said, at a time when the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development listed the average maximum advertised internet speeds in Canada as 20 megabits per second, the average internet speed among Canadians who used Google’s Measurement Lab to test their internet connections was just three megabits per second.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now, frequent readers know that I don’t approve of the OECD methodology, but my complaint today has nothing to do with the OECD ranking. The problem is that the report itself is comparing a sampling of advertising of speeds with the average embedded base of what people subscribed to. The two have very little to do with each other. Car companies may advertise vehicles with fuel efficiency, but this has little to do with the average fuel ratings that consumers may experience. Not everyone owns a brand new fuel-efficient hybrid car (there is a large embedded base). Many new car shoppers elect to purchase a vehicle that may not be as fuel efficient as those being advertised.<\/p>\n

Similarly, many consumers may not choose to subscribe to the higher level services, despite the high speeds being offered. If the objective is to understand whether consumers are getting what they are paying for, why is a comparison being made to what speeds are currently featured in ads?<\/p>\n

The far more important comparison, for this purpose, is the average speed to which consumers are subscribed. That data is available from Table 5.3.3 of the CRTC’s Monitoring Report<\/a>. For 2010, the CRTC stated the weighted average download speed was 7.060 Mbps and 8.238 Mbps in 2011.<\/p>\n

The 3.11 Mbps measured still comes up short, but it is far less dramatic a concern than the attention grabbing tactic of comparing to a completely irrelevant metric like Average Advertised Speed. Such reporting does not contribute to better consumer understanding of the real issues.<\/p>\n

How will the industry and regulator respond?<\/p>\n

Last November, I wrote that Rogers was already engaging SamKnows<\/a> to verify the speeds being delivered to its customers. At the time, I wrote that the CRTC already has in its 3-year plan<\/a> an\u00a0intent to monitor ISP upload and download speeds. I also observed:<\/p>\n

As the broadband internet market matures to approach universal adoption, such confidence building measures can be expected to be used in marketing its services. How confident are you that you are getting what you pay for?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Will ISPs engage similar verification services as SamKnows<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0will they\u00a0wait for a CRTC (or Competition Bureau) order to do so?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, PIAC released a report\u00a0[full report (1 MB pdf)] calling for better disclosure about speeds being delivered to subscribers of internet services. Increased transparency and knowledge about services is always a good thing. The report is a good read; it includes a discussion of the factors that can lead to misleading speed test readings …<\/p>\n

Misleading on ISP speeds<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","two_page_speed":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMisleading on ISP speeds • Telecom Trends<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Last week, PIAC released a report\u00a0 calling for better disclosure about speeds being delivered to subscribers of internet services. 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