Internet service providers are starting to deliver performance as advertised, according to the FCC's latest Measuring Broadband America report. Overall, ISPs are reaching 96 percent of promised speeds during peak intervals, up 9 percent from August 2011. When broken down by technology, DSL achieved an average of 84 percent of the advertised download speeds, with cable earning an average of 99 percent and fiber at 117 percent during peak periods, all of which are improvements from the previous year. Upload speeds look even better, with all three forms of connectivity reaching over 100 percent of the promised performance on average.

AT&T — which generally under-delivered according to the report — responded positively to the findings, attributing the achievement to "policies that enable the Internet’s consumer driven growth with minimal government intervention, allowing private investment to build broadband IP infrastructure necessary for America’s economy, innovation and global competitiveness." In addition to customers paying for faster speed tiers, the FCC believes that overall performance has improved because ISPs are delivering more accurate promises and are doing better at providing consistent speeds.