The Next Broadband Business Models

Even carriers driving the speed contest admit that it in some ways impedes the transition to future broadband services — a conflict that may persist until the battle over who has the fastest pipe settles down.

“As we play the speed game, it's just going to hurt us more and more,” Schommer said. “If the speed game slows down to the point [at which providers] say, ‘Yes, we have the bandwidth available, and we're willing to give it to you on a burst basis if you have content you want to distribute,’ I think that's the more logical approach, and eventually I could see that happening.”

Still, the speed game won't be slowing down anytime soon.

“[Broadband competition] will be about speed for a while,” Mastrangelo said. “Through this decade at least.”