Wallet Pop 

A new FCC study is reporting dramatic differences between the “up to” figures touted by phone and cable companies in promoting their web connections and the internet speeds consumers actually get. According to the FCC, the differences exist no matter how consumers get their broadband. “Actual download speeds experienced by U.S. consumers lag advertised speed by roughly 50 percent,” according to an FCC technical report released this week.

While saying clearly that consumers are unlikely to get a download at the advertised speed, the FCC was less specific on whether this is because internet providers are fudging in their ads. Computer performance, local Wi-Fi network hardware and configuration issues, and overburdened internet sites could be contributing to the slower speeds, it said.

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