Hong Kong tops in Internet speed with 63.6 Mbps: Akamai rpt

Year-over-year, global average peak connection speeds continued to show strong long-term growth, rising 36 percent, finds Akamai's First Quarter, 2013 State of the Internet Report

News | by CIOL Correspondent

BANGALORE, INDIA: Quarter-over-quarter, the global average connection speed rose 4 percent to 3.1 Mbps (up from 2.9 Mbps), highlights from Akamai's First Quarter, 2013 State of the Internet Report.

A total of 117 countries/regions that qualified for inclusion saw average connection speeds increase this quarter, ranging from 0.7 percent in Kuwait to 75 percent in Guatemala.

Year-over-year, average connection speeds grew by 17 percent, with eight of the top 10 countries/regions growing by double-digit percentages. Around the world, 123 qualifying countries/regions saw a year-over-year increase in average connection speeds, ranging from 1.4 percent in Oman to 122 percent in Iraq.

Global average peak connection speeds increased 9.2 percent to 18.4 Mbps during the first quarter of 2013. Hong Kong was again number one at 63.6 Mbps, an increase of 9 percent over the previous quarter.

Year-over-year, global average peak connection speeds continued to show strong long-term growth, rising 36 percent.

Global broadband (>4 Mbps) adoption increased 5.8 percent during the quarter to reach 46 percent. Global high broadband (>10 Mbps) reached 13 percent on a 10 percent increase over last quarter.

"This quarter's State of the Internet Report shows continued positive growth in terms of Internet and broadband adoption worldwide. We have seen overall increases in average and peak connection speeds along with greater broadband penetration on both a quarterly and annual basis," said David Belson, the report's editor. "However, the levels of malicious activity we've observed show no signs of abating, as evidenced by the ongoing rise in DDoS attacks. This reinforces the continued need for vigilance by organizations that are conducting business and maintaining a presence on the Internet."

Mobile Connectivity

In the first quarter of 2013, average connection speeds on surveyed mobile network operators ranged from a high of 8.6 Mbps to a low of 0.4 Mbps. Nine operators demonstrated average connection speeds in the broadband (>4 Mbps) range while 64 more operators showed average connection speeds above 1 Mbps. Data collected by Ericsson indicates that the volume of mobile data traffic doubled from the first quarter of 2012 to the first quarter of 2013, and grew 19 percent between the fourth quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of 2013.

An initial release of an updated data source for Akamai IO occurred in mid-February 2013, resulting in significant changes in observed device/browser adoption levels. For the first half of the quarter, mobile devices on cellular networks using the Android Webkit accounted for just over 41 percent of total requests, while Apple Mobile Safari accounted for 38 percent. In the second half of the quarter, Android Webkit was responsible for nearly 44 percent of requests and Apple Mobile Safari accounted for just over 30 percent. When measuring mobile devices across all network types, Apple Mobile Safari accounted for approximately 60 pc and Android Webkit was responsible for 20-33 pc of requests.