Data Speed More Important than Net Neutrality

The debate over net neutrality may keep raging on with powerful figures on both sides, but a surprising study showed that a large majority of subscribers are on board with a new system.

Flash Networks administered a survey that showed a surprising 74% of subscribers who feel that mobile operators should be able to offer premium content with faster speeds, even more than the 69% of operators who think it is a good idea.

Subscribers seem to place an emphasis on data speed, even as LTE technology continues to improve and speeds continue to accelerate, and there is always a desire for connections to be even faster as time progresses. 48% of respondents in 2013 for the same survey felt their network could be considered “super-fast - 20Mpbs download throughput” which fell to 31% this year, and 75% of operators indicated that they plan to accelerate data speeds in the near future.

These results show that for the majority of subscribers, the ethical dilemma of Net Neutrality is irrelevant – all they want is faster speeds. Results show that it is the second most important factor in deciding a carrier, after coverage. Mobile operators recognize this and have made it a priority to improve in both of these aspects.

Video access is especially important as it takes the longest to buffer and has the least experience being presented on a mobile platform. As more people shift their multimedia experiences to mobile devices, there is more expectation for it to load as quickly and with as high of quality as a home experience would be.

Many seem to feel that the system will work itself out, and those fearing the end of Net Neutrality have little to worry about. Although a fast lane would indeed give an advantage to more established channels, human ingenuity will always prevail, and up-and-coming companies will be able to find a way to overcome these limitations, continuing to provide the public with unrestricted, life-enhancing content.