Internet access providers in the UK are being challenged on their broadband speeds, which their customers claim are not as advertised. An independent study showed that 62% of customers were getting less than half the advertised bandwidth that their provider had promised.
The article has an unintentionally humorous quote from a member of the commission studying the problem, who said, "...there were good technical reasons for the gulf between advertised and actual speeds." Yes, like the service providers have not bothered to provision their equipment to actually deliver the advertised bandwidth.
Network architecture is important, and communities looking at making investments have to make sure they pick the right network architecture. A properly designed Layer 3 multi-service, open access network can easily deliver advertised bandwidth to customers, and some communities in America are already moving to this architecture, and away from the older systems that have been used for the last fifteen years. Design Nine designs ONLY multi-service networks that can deliver advertised speeds, because if communities are going to make these investments, businesses and residents need to know they are going to get their money's worth, rather than empty promises from equipment vendors selling systems that can't deliver.