U.S. broadband internet speed lags other countries
July 9, 2009
Broadband internet speeds in the U.S. continue to lag behind other countries like Japan, South Korea and Sweden, which have the highest levels of connections at speeds above 2 Mbps.
In fact, with just 63 percent of broadband internet connections at above 2 Mbps, the U.S. ranks 33rd in the world, behind countries like Romania and Slovenia, according to the latest State of the Internet report from internet service provider Akimai.
Within the U.S., the fastest broadband internet connections are not evenly distributed, with eight of the top 10 states on the East Coast. Delaware has the fastest speeds in the country with an average connection speed in at 7.2 Mbps, Akimai reported.
The report said most residential broadband internet providers offer connections in the 5-15 Mbps downstream range, with faster connections in only limited areas or at significantly higher prices.
Fortunately for U.S. consumers, Akamai expects the rollout of DOCSIS 3.0 technology by cable internet providers will make faster speeds more broadly available and competition between providers should push prices down to a more affordable range.
Still, it could be a while before more rural areas get the kind of speeds experienced on the coasts. The federal government is planning to spend $7 billion to expand broadband to rural and underserved areas.
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