Broadband Speeds, Testing Called 'Really Confusing'

Broadband speeds and testing them “is a really confusing topic” and “consumers are almost hopelessly confused,” a telecom economist-consultant told NARUC in Denver. Gillan & Associates President Joe Gillan said consumers don’t always know the service speeds they're buying from ISPs, echoing others (see 2107190069). “Because consumers are confused, the politics around this is confused,” Gillan continued. Maybe 10% of people want 1 Gbps, and many internet users don’t need symmetrical speeds, he said. “Networks can do more than most people need them to do.”