Promises that fast broadband speeds will provide benefits such as instant music downloads and high-definition movies are unlikely ever to be kept, it has been claimed.
The truth is that the ability to provide published speeds, such as Virgin Media's recently-launched 50 megabits per second (Mbps) offering, is subject to a large number of 'usage' caveats that renders the consumer unlikely to achieve anywhere close to 50Mbps, according to technology research firm OneStopClick.
Indeed, the group states advertised speeds are based on a number of misnomers.
The first of these is that a statement of a particular number of Mbps is an indication of a connection's capacity, not how quickly information is transported, the organisation comments.
"The reason for this misnomer is because there is no concept of distance. 'Megabits per second' is a rate, not a speed. To calculate throughput - i.e. payload over time - you need to factor in speed of movement, the distance travelled, quantity and the capacity rate", the firm continued.
To clarify, data always travels at the speed of light.
Furthermore, the firm points out in its article,
Broadband - On a Highway to Nothing, that for majority of everyday usage the internet does not send data continuously as many consumers believe.
Rather, OneStopClick emphasises that data integrity has to be guaranteed for most applications to succeed in purpose, meaning internet information is sent in small payloads which are confirmed upon receipt. The smaller payloads make the overhead of checks and balances sustainable, especially when data fails to arrive.
This means that data must be accepted before more can be sent, while smaller payloads lead to slower throughput speeds. According to OneStopClick, it is extremely difficult to predict the kinds of speeds that online customers should expect; as these are dependent on the amount of information being delivered and the distance and efficiency of the route of travel.
Using the examples of the distances from London to New York and London to Sydney, the firm states that at a capacity of 50 Mbps, data is likely to reach the east coast of the US at less than one-fifth of the advertised 'speed' and the Australian city at one-tenth of the indicated speed because of the miles involved in each case.
Moreover, the company suggests that internet service providers themselves do not understand how the majority of information travels through the internet and indicates the differential between what is sold and what is delivered will grow as companies battle for market dominance.
It does not mean that 50Mbps is not achievable and the capacity can be used to do multiple tasks if there is the need.
However in order for a 50 Mbps connection to deliver application throughput speeds of 50 Mbps, the firm concludes, the server delivering content will have to be in the local town, and the firm points out that the odds of this are "slim to nothing".