Internet speeds climb 10 percent worldwide
A total of 133 regions tracked by Akamai saw gains in average connection speeds ranging from 0.2 percent to 259 percent in 2013's third quarter when compared with the previous quarter.
Internet access is getting quicker throughout the world, says cloud service provider Akamai.
Releasing its "State of the Internet" report for third quarter of 2013 on Tuesday, Akamai pegged the average global connection speed at 3.6 megabits per second, a 10 percent increase from the second quarter and a 29 percent leap from the same quarter in 2012. Gains in the average connection speed among 133 regions covered in the report ranged from 0.2 percent in Egypt to 1.2 Mbps to 259 percent in French island Reunion to 6.8 Mbps.
Compared with the second quarter, the average global peak connection speed fell by 5.2 percent to 17.9 Mbps. Such countries as Romania, Latvia, and Belgium watched their numbers decline. But 7 of the top 10 regions measured saw gains in peak speeds ranging from 0.5 percent in Hong Kong to 19 percent in South Korea. Compared with the third quarter of 2012, the average global peak connection speed actually grew by 13 percent.
"In the third quarter of 2013, we observed that long-term growth in average and average peak connection speeds remained strong, as did growth in global broadband and high broadband adoption rates," David Belson, the report's editor, said in a statement. "We believe these trends point to continued improvement in the quality and performance of Internet connectivity in countries around the world."
On the mobile front, average connection speeds for the quarter ranged from a low of 0.6 Mbps to a high of 9.5 Mbps, while average peak connection speeds varied from 12.4 Mbps to 49.8 Mbps. Based on data gathered by Ericsson, mobile traffic during the third quarter surged by 80 percent from the same quarter a year earlier.