It’s unsurprising that the uplink caps at 5mpbs, it’s a 50/5 connection; but the article just wants the reader to “take their word” that the video stream look good without also comparing other connections (the apps themselves might self regulate) or latency (the apps might employ more buffering on a slow connection)
The South Park nipple rubbing cable tv operators but in real life.
Cable is a perfectly viable technology, with DOCSIS 3.1 and 4, for at least another decade, probably more. Their own lack of infrastructure investment is coming to bite them in the ass, fast.
For clarification: I work for an ISP/telco that manages legacy copper POTS/xDSL, cable, fiber and cellular networks. While we are actively expanding fiber from the backbone out and doing a lot of FTTH by now, cable is still a solid workhorse, but it takes an operator who actually cares about maintaining the infrastructure.
With a competently designed network, you wouldn't have anywhere near that many in a segment.
I'm on a 300/60 cable connection via my employer, and I have never had my connection test below 360/70. This is in an an area densely populated with apartment buildings, where cable is still the best option for most people, with some fiber rolling out.
I am however moving to a 100/100 fiber connection (plenty fast for my needs, with the faster upload speed), due to a change in employment that is not of my own choice. So I don't consider myself biased in favor of my current employer ;-)
Cable is alive and well, if properly maintained and upgraded.
Ten years back I was told America likes to zap quickly through tv-channels with all the artefacts involved while Asia preferred a slower and artefact-free experience. Analog and keyframeless digital codecs are faster but not so bandwidth efficient.