Internet Speeds Explained

The federal floor

One hundred down and twenty up is the federal floor

There is an official answer to what counts as real broadband. In its 2024 Section 706 Report the FCC raised the fixed broadband speed benchmark from 25/3 Mbps to 100/20 Mbps, and found that having advanced telecommunications capability for fixed broadband requires download speeds of at least 100 Mbps and upload speeds of at least 20 Mbps¹.

The notation is literal. A footnote in the same report explains that in the case of 100/20 Mbps, the Commission refers to service with a download speed of 100 Mbps and an upload speed of 20 Mbps¹. First number down, second number up. The Commission also set a long-term goal of 1,000 Mbps down paired with 500 Mbps up¹.

That floor is not everywhere. The same report found 100/20 terrestrial fixed service has not been physically deployed to roughly 7% of Americans, with about 28% of rural residents and about 23% of people on Tribal lands lacking access¹.

Six numbers worth understanding before you pick a tier

Speed shopping goes wrong in predictable places, and most of them are fixed by reading one number correctly.

Download is the number everyone quotes

It is the one on the billboard and the one that sizes streaming and downloads. In the FCC's Thirteenth Measuring Broadband America Fixed Report, ten ISPs were evaluated and the weighted average advertised download speed was 467 Mbps, up 52% from the Twelfth Report and 141% from the Eleventh².

Upload is the number that fails you

Video calls, cloud backups and sending large files all lean on upload. The federal benchmark deliberately pairs the two, at 100 down with 20 up, and the long-term goal pairs 1,000 down with 500 up¹. A plan with a big download number and a thin upload number will still feel slow on a call.

Advertised speed is mostly delivered at peak

The FCC measures this. Of the major provider and technology combinations tested, eight measured download speeds at 100% or better than advertised during peak hours of 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. local time, and the other four delivered between 86% and 90% of advertised speed².

The consistency test is harsher

The 80/80 metric asks what speed at least 80% of subscribers get at least 80% of the time during peak. By that measure only six of the twelve provider and technology configurations performed at or better than advertised². Peak-hour averages and reliable everyday speed are not the same claim.

DSL trails everything else

On the 80/80 measure the lowest performing technology was DSL, with providers achieving between 63% and 72% of advertised speed². If a copper DSL line is what is available at your address, plan around the gap between the number sold and the number that shows up during the evening.

Your label carries typical speeds and latency

This is not something you have to guess or measure yourself. The FCC requires providers to display their typical upload and download speeds and typical latency on the broadband consumer label³, and that label must be shown at the point of sale for every stand-alone plan they sell⁴.

FCC 2026 ceiling, 100/20 unlimited$96.46, a cap not an average

Verizon Fios 300 Mbps list price$59.99/mo, read 7 August 2026

What does it cost?

There is no national average price per speed tier available here, and that gap is real rather than an oversight. What the FCC does publish is a reasonable comparability benchmark, a ceiling that subsidized carriers may not exceed. In the U.S. column of its 2026 table it lists $94.95 for 100/10 with unlimited capacity, $96.46 for 100/20, $98.86 for 250/25, $105.49 for 500/50 and $123.15 for 1000/100⁵. Those are caps. Do not read them as typical bills.

One provider's published ladder shows how price tracks speed in practice. Verizon's Fios page, read on 7 August 2026, listed 300 Mbps at $59.99 a month, 500 Mbps at $84.99, 1 Gig at $99.99, 2 Gig at $119.99 and 5 Gig at $129.99, each with a discounted price $25 lower⁶. Verizon states the two conditions that close that gap: $10 a month for autopay with paper-free billing and $15 a month for carrying a Verizon postpaid mobile phone plan⁶.

The benchmark figures are FCC ceilings for subsidized carriers, not average retail prices, and the Verizon prices are one provider's own published list prices on one date, excluding taxes and the $99 setup fee.

Hiring

How to buy the right speed

1

Who does the work

Your provider states its own typical download speed, upload speed and latency on the label³. The FCC checks a sample independently through its Measuring Broadband America program, which evaluated ten ISPs in the Thirteenth Fixed Report using validated data collected in September and October 2022². Nobody measures your specific line for you before you sign.

2

What pros will ask

A service address comes first, since what is deployed varies block by block and about 7% of Americans have no 100/20 service available at all¹. Expect questions about how many people stream at once, whether anyone works from home on video, and whether you want the plan on its own or bundled, because the label price covers stand-alone service³.

3

What to check before signing

Read the speed rows on the label rather than the headline³. Note that advertised figures are usually framed as a maximum. Verizon's own plan cards describe tiers as up to 300 Mbps speeds and up to 940 Mbps speed⁶. Then check the upload figure against the federal pairing of 100 down with 20 up¹, and confirm which price you actually qualify for.

Speed questions, answered straight

What speed officially counts as broadband?

100 Mbps download paired with 20 Mbps upload. The FCC raised the fixed broadband speed benchmark from 25/3 Mbps to 100/20 Mbps in its 2024 Section 706 Report, based on the current state of broadband needs, usage and deployment, and adopted a long-term goal of 1,000 Mbps download paired with 500 Mbps upload¹. Anything below 100/20 is, by the federal government's own definition, not advanced telecommunications capability, whatever the marketing calls it.

Do providers really deliver the speed they advertise?

Mostly, at least on the average. In the FCC's Thirteenth Measuring Broadband America Fixed Report, eight of the tested provider and technology combinations measured download speeds at 100% or better than advertised during peak hours of 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., and the other four came in between 86% and 90%². On the stricter 80/80 consistency measure, only six of twelve configurations hit or beat advertised speed². That report used data collected in September and October 2022.

What is a good latency number in milliseconds?

No number is published here, and we will not invent one. Your provider must display its typical latency on the broadband consumer label, alongside typical upload and download speeds³, so the honest answer is to read the figure your own provider discloses and compare it against the same row on a competitor's label. The FCC's measurement reports discuss idle and working latency, but the numeric values sit inside chart images rather than readable text.

Why does upload speed get so little attention?

Because it is easier to sell a big download number. The federal benchmark treats the two as a pair, requiring at least 100 Mbps down and at least 20 Mbps up before service counts as advanced telecommunications capability, and the long-term goal pairs 1,000 Mbps down with 500 Mbps up¹. If you upload video, back up to cloud storage or spend your day on calls, the second number is the one that decides how the connection feels.

Where can I see the speed numbers before a salesperson quotes me?

On the label, which has to be available before you commit. The rule defines point of sale to include the provider's website, provider-owned and third-party retail locations and the phone, and it also covers the time you begin investigating and comparing broadband offerings available at your location⁴. Existing customers get another route: providers offering online account portals must make each customer's own label easily accessible there⁴.

Sources

Where these facts came from

Every figure on this page was read out of the page linked below. We do not cite cost aggregators.

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