Average World Internet Speeds Climb to 2.9Mbps as UK Scores 6.5Mbps

Akamai has today published its latest State of the Internet Q4 2012 report, which found that the average global download speed had clawed its way to 2.9Mbps (up from 2.8Mbps in Q3-2012). By comparison the UK reached a speed of 6.5Mbps (up from 6.3Mbps in Q3) to be ranked 18th fastest in the world (down from 17th).

The UK also recorded a peak broadband speed of 30.5Mbps (up from 28.1Mbps in Q3). But we’re still a long way behind the fastest country, South Korea, which can harness a national fibre optic network (FTTH) to produce average speeds of 14Mbps (down from 14.7Mbps in Q3) and a peak of 49.3Mbps. The fastest EU country was Latvia with an average of 8.9Mbps.

The report also claims that 64% of broadband users in the UK experienced internet download speeds of above 4Mbps (up from 62% in Q3 and 56% in Q2) and 11% were able to receive speeds of 10Mbps+ (unchanged from Q3).

It should be said that Akamai’s data typically reflects the regional performance of its Content Delivery Network (CDN) and their connections with related ISP servers around the world, thus its data shouldn’t be taken as a reliable reflection of real-world end-user connection speeds.

Similarly an ISPs local capacity constraints, Traffic Management measures and the fact that some consumers will often pick slower packages for a cheaper price can all affect the outcome. For comparison purposes we’ve also included the table of European (EMEA) countries below. Happily we’re still above Germany, Spain and France.

Akamai’s study also reveals that the average Mobile Broadband download speed in the United Kingdom returned to 2.91Mbps after sitting on a low of 2.6Mbps during Q3-2012, although the country’s average mobile peak speeds topped 18.1Mbps. Sadly the report doesn’t list the operators by name and so we cannot be sure which specific network performed the best.

Akamai’s State of the Internet Q4 2012 Report
http://www.akamai.com/stateoftheinternet/