Broadband expectations ramping up

People expect faster speeds from a broadband internet connection than they did a year and a half ago, according to recent surveys of silicon.com readers.

The majority still expect a minimum of 512Kbps for a service to be sold as 'broadband'. Forty-eight per cent of 945 readers surveyed recently chose this speed, compared with 55 per cent from a similar poll taken in February 2004.

However, in the most recent poll 25 per cent of readers said broadband should deliver speeds of at least 1Mbps while 18 per cent expect 2Mbps. This is down from 2004, when 19 and eight per cent fewer people respectively chose these higher speed connections.

The acceptance of lower speed connections has dipped, too, with two per cent of readers in the most recent poll saying 150Kbps should be considered broadband, compared to nearly 10 per cent in 2004.

The number of 'wishful thinkers' has remained level, though, with around five per cent of readers in both polls saying broadband should be faster than 10Mbps.