Broadband speeds have increased from an average peak...

Broadband speeds have increased from an average peak of 27.1 Mbps in 2012 to 45.3 Mbps, said NCTA in a blog post Friday (http://bit.ly/1racpes). The 67 percent increase is based on an Akamai quarterly report on the Internet, NCTA said. “Every year broadband speeds increase in the U.S. and these increases will continue.” Charter Communications increased minimum broadband speeds from 15 Mbps to 60 Mbps this year, while Cox Communications has announced plans for gigabit service to many residential customers, NCTA said. The speed increases come from “huge, consistent, infrastructure investment,” NCTA said. Cable companies spent $14 billion on infrastructure improvements last year, while telecom companies as a whole spent $46 billion, “more than any other industry in America,” NCTA said.