Broadband speeds stutter, while Brazilian connections multiply

Despite the continuing roll-out of high-speed networks around the world, average and peak connection speeds actually declined by seven per cent between the second and third quarters of 2012 to 2.8Mbps, according to Akamai’s latest State of the Internet report.

The report, based on data from the Akamai Intelligent Platform, found that South Korea remains top of the pile for speed, with an average connection of 14.7Mbps, followed by Japan with 10.7Mbps and Hong Kong with 8.9Mbps.

Despite the slight quarter-over-quarter decline, global average connection speed enjoyed healthy 11 per cent growth year over year.

For the second quarter in a row, Brazil experienced the greatest year-on-year growth (39 per cent) within the group of top ten countries with the most unique IPv4 addresses connecting to the Akamai Intelligent Platform. In the same top ten group, China showed the largest quarter-over-quarter increase, with 5.7 per cent.

In the third quarter of 2012, average connection speeds on surveyed mobile network providers ranged from a high of 7.8Mbps to a low of 324Kbps. Seven providers showed average connection speeds in the “broadband” (>4Mbps) range. An additional 68 mobile providers had average connection speeds greater than 1Mbps.