Consumers more discerning over broadband deals

US consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the limitations of some broadband service connections, particularly in regard to available bandwidth, analysts report.

In-Stat noted that the amount of bandwidth available to a broadband data service end user is becoming more important to consumers.

"As a general rule of thumb in the broadband world, higher bandwidth is better," said In-Stat analyst Mike Paxton.

"Consumers readily recognise this fact, and many are actively looking for a broadband service that will increase the amount of bandwidth that they can use. "

In-Stat surveyed over 700 broadband households to determine US residential broadband speeds.

The households use several different types of broadband access technologies, including cable modem, DSL, fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), satellite broadband and fixed wireless.

The average downstream speed was found to be 3.8Mbps, while the average upstream speed is 980Kbps.

FTTH connections, according to the research, offer the fastest broadband speeds, followed by cable modem and DSL.

The average downstream FTTH speed was 8.8Mbps, while cable modem connections averaged 4.9Mbps and DSL averaged 2.1Mbps.

The average monthly price for broadband service is currently just over $38. Over 83 per cent of respondents to the In-Stat survey stated that they were 'very satisfied' or 'somewhat satisfied' with their current connection.