Ookla Official Says ISPs Should Educate Consumers on Perceived and Actual Speeds

ISPs should ensure customers have up-to-date equipment and can receive faster speeds as they upgrade their networks, Ookla Vice President-Government Affairs Bryan Darr said during a Fiber Broadband Association webinar Wednesday. Darr also emphasized the need to invest in the final yards of last-mile infrastructure, noting that it's "going to impact if [a consumer] bought a good level of service" regardless of a provider’s advertised speeds.

As the FCC has begun requiring ISPs to publish broadband consumer labels for each service tier, more information has become available on consumer experiences (see 2211180077). Data from speed tests that ISPs report to the FCC reflect the provided broadband speed but not necessarily what the consumer experiences, Darr said. What happens inside a home "can vary significantly" and "it's one of the reasons why we report so many different metrics associated with speed tests."

As fiber networks are upgraded, better speeds are available for customers, but these aren't always effectively distributed through consumers' homes. Factors include older wireless distribution devices incapable of handling the speeds of fiber connections, distance of devices from the router and building layout, which can cause signal interference. Often, consumers connect to their network through Wi-Fi devices, and the age of the device, or the layout of the house, can influence perceived network speeds. Darr encouraged ISPs to educate customers about when they should upgrade routers to receive advertised speeds.

The FCC required most ISPs to comply with its broadband consumer labels as of April 10; smaller providers have until Oct. 10 (see 2404100076). ISPs must report data including "typical" download and upload speeds, as well as latency. Once all providers have come into compliance, there will be a data set that "can ultimately help validate the claims that are being required of the operators on their broadband labels," Darr said, "although there's a lot more value to this than just validating this claim."

"We've got adoption levels that we're seeing here at the mid-level, at the near-gig speed level, but we also see where people are choosing slower plans," Darr said. "There is still not an insignificant number of areas that have not been upgraded" either, he said. It's "critically important" providers understand that "customer perception of the network is going to play a very, very large role in their satisfaction with your service," Darr added. In addition to educating customers, ISPs should ensure "their customer service is up-to-date" and that they can deliver service at advertised speeds, he said.

Darr also spoke about the network performance of wireless providers. Such providers are unable to match the speed of fiber connections, he emphasized. Satellite providers like Starlink, however, are better suited for difficult-to-reach areas or used as a backup to fiber connections, Darr said, adding that Starlink is the best option in extremely remote places or niche environments, such as war zones and cruise ships.