Verizon, Consolidated, and CenturyLink topped network performance in the fourth quarter

Sean BuckleyWhether you're a late-night Netflix video binger or a school teacher trying to file grades online, Internet users all have a common expectation that they will be able to get a good connection and overall experience.

In tandem with its partner Cedexis, FierceTelecom, is once again taking a look at network performance in our quarterly feature, "Wireline network performance: How CenturyLink, Consolidated and Verizon compared in Q4 2015."

We look at network performance from three angles -- latency, throughput and availability.

As expected, there were fluctuations amongst the top providers such as Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Consolidated Communications and CenturyLink (NYSE: CTL).

Similar to the earlier quarter, Verizon continued to be the dominant provider across all three categories.

On the latency front, Verizon retained the lead in network latency, improving to 35.4 milliseconds across its nine regions from 46.1 msec in the previous period. However, FairPoint and Frontier continued to lag in the latency category, reporting 57.3 and 65.6 msec, respectively.

Verizon and Consolidated also scored high marks in throughput and availability. However, AT&T, CenturyLink, and Consolidated were tied at an average of 99.7 percent of availability, for example.

Check out our new network performance report here.