Pocatello’s Internet Could Be Slowest In The Nation
A study of internet speeds in a Huffington Post article says Idaho has the slowest internet of any state, and that when it comes to cities across the country, Pocatello takes last place.
The company Pando Networks said it tracked download speeds of about 4 million users across the country for five months to get average internet speeds.
But some of the internet service providers in Pocatello have a hard time believing the report.
“Overall, I would say Pocatello has pretty good connection speeds in the metro area,? Big Dog Internet Operations Manager Kenny Pfamenstiel said.
Others, however, said there’s truth in what the report shows about Pocatello’s internet speed.
“Well, there are definitely problems here with the internet,? Galaxy Computer service manager Lee Adams said.
The folks at Galaxy Computer said they have experience with just about all the internet options in Pocatello, and they say one of the problems is choice.
“There’s not a lot of options for fast speeds,? Adams said.
The report said Pocatello averages a download speed of 251kbps, meaning it would take about fifteen minutes to download one of the largest Youtube videos.
The local ISPs said if people want more speed, they have options that are much faster.
Although faster internet options are available, some say cost is an issue.
“They price it too high, to make it cost prohibitive for the end user. So yeah, pricing is definitely an issue,? Adams said.
But for some people in Pocatello, fast internet may not be something they have a demand for.
“There’s still a lot of people who’ve learned how to use what they want, and they’re not necessarily needing the speed,? Pocatello CableOne General Manager Maury Lee said.
The average internet speed in the area could be set to get much faster soon. “We have vendors renovating their systems to bring in faster bandwidth. So it’s looking pretty good,? Adams said.
“I think over the last 12 to 18 months there’s been a massive increase in people wanting faster data speeds,? Pfamenstiel said.
The title of city with the fastest internet went to Andover, Mass.
The 2,800 kbps Andover averaged is more than 10 times what Pocatello got.
