The FCC headlines this survey report of theirs with the fact that most people don't know what speed their broadband service is, but I don't know why they should know. I don't know my broadband speed, and I've never tried to figure it out, because there's nothing I can do about it, other than switch to the even-crappier provider.The really interesting result is the fact that most people are satisfied with the broadband speed they're getting. We're not supposed to be, of course. We're supposed to be upset that the U.S. ranks 14th or whatever in the world in broadband adoption, but I think this result gives us a realistic picture of Web use today.
After all, what's the website everyone's talking about now, either the first- or second-most popular, depending on who you ask and when? The one whose privacy settings have everyone up in arms? It's Facebook. You don't need massive bandwidth to use Facebook.
Sure, more people are using the Web for streaming video, and more people are working at home. But I think what this survey tells us is that the Web is more valuable for its connectivity than its speed, its ubiquity rather than its applications. Will that eventually change? Sure. It has already. Most people are happy with their broadband, but I doubt that many people who lack broadband, who still use dialup, are particularly happy with their Web experience.
