Fiber-to-the-home broadband services well exceeded advertised speeds during peak hours ,and cable and DSL services met advertised speed at least four-fifths of the time, an FCC-sponsored study reported Tuesday. The long-awaited report from broadband speed consultant SamKnows, as expected (CD July 19 p14), found that the 13 Internet providers in the study were meeting or exceeding their advertised speeds: “On average, during peak periods DSL-based services delivered download speeds that were 82 percent of advertised speeds, cable-based services delivered 93 percent of advertised speeds, and fiber-to-the-home services delivered 114 percent of advertised speeds,” SamKnows said. The study was the most extensive broadband speed study the commission ever undertook, it said.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- As more cable channels opt for reality shows in their lineup, PBS is reasserting its importance as the U.S.’s primary TV and Internet destination for cultural and educational programming, said PBS President Paula Kerger at the summer press tour: “Channels that were supposed to replace PBS by offering history, drama, and arts programming have increasingly turned to reality television and the trend is only accelerating. If the rest of the media continues on its current trajectory, PBS and our stations will be the only enterprise whose sole purpose is to provide content of consequence both nationally and locally to all Americans."

Legislation to keep down the volume of TV ads applies to all spots on TV stations and multichannel video programming distributors, not just what broadcasters and MVPDs originate, the bill’s sponsor and a nonprofit group told us Tuesday. Last year’s Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act ought not to be interpreted by the FCC as having such a wide exemption that the industries it’s targeted to aren’t responsible for all ads they carry, said the office of Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. It pointed to replies from Consumers Union, which made that point.

AT&T warned that smartphone customers with unlimited data plans may experience reduced speeds once their usage in a billing cycle reaches the level that puts them among the top 5 percent of heaviest data users, the company said. According to the company, such users consume 12 times more data than the average AT&T customer. Free Press and Public Knowledge were sharply critical of the AT&T announcement Monday. The customers can still use unlimited data and their speeds will be restored with the start of the next billing cycle, it said. “Before you are affected, we will provide multiple notices, including a grace period."

The FCC gave “adequate notice” it might require cable systems to carry independent programmers while indies’ complaints of discrimination based on nonaffiliation with operators were pending at the agency, the commission said Monday. A program carriage order on which Commissioner McDowell partially dissented as expected (CD Aug 1 p7) because of concerns over that standstill provision, contained a section on such notice. Comcast and the NCTA said again that they disagree that a 2007 rulemaking notice signaled that such rules could be adopted. The Media Access Project and Public Knowledge supported the new rules.

Windstream agreed to acquire local-exchange carrier Paetec in a deal valued at $2.3 billion, including $1.4 billion in debt, as the company continues to expand its enterprise business. The deal, pending federal and state regulatory approvals, is expected to close in six months.

Rural Cellular Association President Steve Berry sharply criticized the Universal Service Fund/intercarrier compensation proposal formally filed by a U.S. Telecom-organized group of carriers at the FCC Friday (CD Aug 1 p1). He argued it’s a wireline-centric plan that largely leaves wireless in the cold. Berry called the proposal “a joke.” RCA represents small to mid-sized carriers. Satellite broadband companies, who also were not part of negotiations on the proposal, also criticized it Monday. Consumer groups and states’ rights advocates expressed concerns, while executives representing small and mid-sized cable operators expressed support for elements of the plan.

Get ready for a busy autumn on spectrum legislation after Sunday’s debt limit compromise by congressional leaders and President Barack Obama, Hill and industry officials said. The debt limit agreement had no spectrum provisions. Auctions may still be an attractive option for a joint select committee set up by the proposal to find $1.5 trillion in additional savings from 2012 t0 2021 by mid-November, the officials said Monday. The House was expected to vote Monday night on the debt compromise, with a Senate vote to follow.

The FCC was asked to delay further the emergency-alert system deadline for all multichannel video programming distributors and radio and TV stations to be capable of transmitting EAS warnings in a format developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Associations representing cable operators big and small and commercial and public radio and TV broadcasters asked for another delay in the effective date of common alerting protocol (CAP) rules. The commission has been taking longer than industry and some agency officials anticipated in finalizing gear certification rules so that broadcasters and MVPDs can comply with CAP. In seeking comment on the Part 11 equipment certification rules, the commission asked about a further delay (CD May 27 p4). A major maker of EAS equipment told us it still opposes a further delay.

Incumbent telcos were able to bang out an agreement on the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation regime reforms after months of negotiations. The rest of industry said the real debate has only begun. The USTelecom-brokered agreement won a last-minute okay from the three biggest rural telecom associations Friday. Left out of the discussions, though, were cable, CLECs, states’ rights and consumer advocates, many of whom were already slinging arrows at Friday’s announcement. CompTel, XO Communications, NARUC, NCTA, Sprint Nextel and the Rural Cellular Association all issued statements praising the agreement as a step forward but raising substantive questions about the deal.