Comcast fastest US provider

Comcast, the largest cable provider in the US, has the country's fastest broadband speeds according to tests undertaken in 2011 by users of Ookla, whose speedtesting platform is branded under the more familiar name of speedtest.net.

Whilst Ookla's results are generally not as accurate as those of the SamKnows units that Ofcom are using for benchmarking of UK ISPs and the FCC are in the US, their browser based speedtests are generally reasonably representative in terms of the relative performance of providers - and the completion of the rollout of their DOCSIS3 network is a key facilitator for their fast speeds.

In 2011 Comcast's speedtests averaged 17.19Mb download speeds, with other cable operators following them closely. Verizon were the fastest of the non cable providers, with their average speeds of 12.94Mb being boosted by their FiOS fibre offering.

It's believed that 70% of the US's broadband market will be controlled by cable operators by 2020, with faster speeds resulting in consumers favouring them in a country where there is often one cable and one DSL provider to choose from in many regional territories.