Speed Matters.org released the third annual report on Internet Speeds in America, and it seems things haven’t improved much over the past year. The report stated, “Between 2007 and 2009, the average download speed in the United States has increased by only 1.6 megabits per second (mbps), from 3.5 mbps in 2007 to 5.1 mbps in 2009. At this rate, it will take the United States 15 years to catch up with current Internet speeds in South Korea, the country with the fastest average Internet connections.”
It went on to say, “Only 20 percent of those who took the test have Internet speeds in the range of the top-ranked countries - South Korea, Japan and Sweden. 18 percent do not even meet the FCC definition for current-generation broadband: an always-on Internet connection of at least 768 kbps downstream.
The states with the fastest Internet connections are Delaware with 9.9 mbps, Rhode Island with 9.8 mbps, New Jersey with 8.9 mbps, Massachusetts with 8.6 mbps and New York with 8.4 mbps. Rounding out the top 10 are Maryland, Virginia, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Washington DC, with California coming in 11th place.
The slowest Internet connections were Mississippi with 3.7 mbps, South Carolina with 3.6 mbps,
Arkansas with 3.1 mbps, Idaho with 2.6 mbps, and Alaska with 2.3 mbps.
Clearly, location is everything at this point. The Speed Matters blog says, “With some exceptions, if you live in a Northeastern or Mid-Atlantic state, you are likely to have good high-speed Internet options.” And they tell us that the United States is still the only industrialized country without a national policy to promote high-speed Internet access.
Tags: Fastest Internet Connections, High Speed Internet, Internet Speeds