Average Global Internet Speeds

A new report by Akamai has revealed global Internet speeds. Surprisingly, the average global speed is only 1.7 Mbps, I think a lot of tech people would be beside themselves if they only had this speed. I remember when we first got the Internet at our home. Dialup at 256Kbps I think. The wonderful crackling sound of connecting - young people these days will have never heard that sound, they don't know what they're missing! I also remember visiting a relative who didn't have broadband yet a few years ago. It took about an hour to download MSN.

What is not surprising about the report is that South Korea, often regarded to have the most cutting-edge broadband technology, has the highest average Internet speed at 12Mbps but the fastest average speed for south Korea is 33Mbps! South Korea also has access to speeds of up to 100Mbps but they are too expensive.

The UK's average speed is a mere 3.8Mbps with the highest average speed by 12Mbps. The UK comes in at 27th out of 201 countries which is a pretty poor show if you ask me! I think generally, broadband speeds have plataued slightly in the UK and prices have not come down that drastically. However, there are cheaper broadband options but they are slower and better suit people's needs (I'm all for users paying for what they need, not paying too much for something they don't need).

Japan seems to be leading the way with coverage and supply though as more than half of the fastest 100 cities in the world being in Japan. Furthering the trend of Asian countries leading the broadband market, the top 3 average Internet speeds go to South Korea (12Mbps), Hong Kong (9Mbps) and Japan (7.8Mbps).

I would like to see the average Internet speed of the UK increased. Recently the UK government wanted to have a minimum broadband speed of 2Mbps for everyone (even in the remote areas of the country) but sadly this has been put on hold for the time being.