Since 2007, In-Stat has conducted an annual broadband “speed test” of broadband Internet subscribers in the United States. The latest survey, conducted in December 2009, shows that both upstream and downstream speeds continue to increase. The 535 survey respondents, who used an online bandwidth measurement tool to measure their bandwidth, reported that their downstream speed had increased by an annual rate of 28 percent. Upstream speed also increased, but by a slightly lower 16 percent.


As in 2008, the access technology with the fastest speeds was fiber to the home, followed by cable modem service. Fixed wireless service leapfrogged DSL service to finish in the third-place position. This seems to have resulted from the increase in the number of fixed wireless broadband subscribers who are using Clearwire’s WiMAX-based service. Of all the access technologies reported by the survey respondents, the access technology with the slowest speed was once again satellite broadband service.

The full results of the broadband bandwidth survey will be published soon in In-Stat's Multimedia Broadband Services research service. For more information about the market for broadband services, check out the recently published "Global Broadband Subs Approach 600 Million."