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Just about everyone believes their internet connection is too slow, but now, if you live in the United States, you can prove it. A communications workers union has [released a study][1] showing that the median U.S. download speed is a mere 1.97 megabits per second. That number comes into perspective when you consider Japanese users enjoy a whopping 61 mbps for the same price.
If the numbers mean nothing to you, consider this from the opening paragraph of the report: "People in Japan can download an entire movie in just two minutes, but it can take two hours or more in the United States. Yet, people in Japan pay the same as we do in the U.S. for their Internet connection."
But this is more than just a first of its kind look at how your broadband provider is screwing you, it also has some nasty implications for U.S. productivity.
It could be argued that the survey does not encompass business and enterprise internet connections which are often much faster, but with more and more U.S. tech workers working from home, the study seems even more telling.
For those curious about the numbers, have a look at the [actual PDF file with all the details][2]. The high level summary is that the survey looked at 80,000 internet users in all 50 states and less than 5 percent of them were on dial-up connections. The dial-up numbers undoubtedly dragged things down, but only highlight the fact that in some areas that's all that's available.
The authors of the study call for five key principles they feel must be embraced in order to change the dismay speeds of U.S. internet users:
>* Speed and Universality Matter for Internet Access
* The U.S. "High Speed" Definition is Too Slow
* A National High Speed Internet for All Policy is Critical
* The U.S. Must Preserve an Open Internet
* Consumer and Worker Protections Must Be Safeguarded
For the record, using the test service on the [SpeedMatters site][3] my own connection measured at 2.9 kbps, just over the median for my state.
[1]: http://www.speedmatters.org/ "SpeedMatters"
[2]: http://www.speedmatters.org/document-library/sourcematerials/sm_report.pdf
[3]: http://www.speedmatters.org/speed-test/ "SpeedMatters: Speed Test"
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