Americans are getting over 244 Mbps in download speed, but are you?

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Key findings

• Americans got 244.68 Mbps of download speed and 34.38 Mbps of upload speed in June 2024
• Cox led broadband providers with a speed of 261 Mbps
• Mobile download speed increased to 115 Mbps from 111 Mbps
• T-Mobile is the fastest mobile provider in Q4 of 2023 at 188 Mbps

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As of June 2024, Ookla’s Speedtest.net shows Americans are getting 244.68 Mbps of download speed and about 34 Mbps of upload speed through their fixed broadband connections — good for 5th in the world for median fixed broadband speeds.

Considering “fast internet speeds” are generally defined as any download speed above 100 Mbps, Americans are doing quite well by this measure. In fact, according to an Allconnect data report, 9 in 10 households can access at least 100 Mbps speeds.

That’s an incredible improvement from a decade ago when the U.S. had an average download speed of just 31 Mbps. In 2013, America ranked 25th among 39 nations for broadband speed. 

Granted, the rest of the world improved too — Ookla estimates that global speeds went up 28% between 2021 and 2022 alone — but the U.S. has outpaced even that rapid progress. Much of that improvement resulted from faster fiber-optic connections being installed nationwide. Around 40% of Americans have access to fiber internet, with most offering incredibly fast speeds of over 1,000 Mbps. 

Fastest mobile and internet providers

The Speedtest Global Index report for the fourth quarter of 2023 also found T-Mobile as the fastest mobile operator with a median download speed of 188 Mbps, a jump of almost 20 Mbps. Cox led as the fastest fixed broadband provider with a median download speed of 261 Mbps, while “Spectrum was second at 252.71 Mbps and AT&T Internet third at 244.88 Mbps. Xfinity, Frontier, Optimum, and Verizon followed.”

Fast internet means you have less latency, or time it takes data to travel from one point to another. This means you can access files, launch programs or hold a Zoom meeting without lagging or dropping service.

The difference between mobile broadband and fixed broadband are in the names, one is mobile, like cell phones, and the other is fixed, like cable internet in a house. Fixed is usually the better option for steady internet use because it’s faster and cheaper than mobile. Internet access on your phone is generally used for quick tasks while on the go.

Why is America behind four other countries?

Despite consistently climbing the rankings over the past decade, America still ranks well behind several other countries. Singapore has the fastest median internet speeds in the world, with 285 Mbps, followed by the United Arab Emirates at 283, Hong Kong at 271 and Chile at 263. So what are Hong Kong and Singapore doing that we’re not?

It’s mostly a square-footage advantage for both countries and substantial government financial investment. Hong Kong is only about 1,000 square miles, and Singapore has much less ground to cover at merely 278.6 square miles — about half the size of Los Angeles. As a center of finance in Asia, Singapore’s economy is also highly dependent on a high-functioning digital infrastructure.

Much of the rural areas of the U.S. aren’t connected to the internet due to the sheer size and the expense of building an infrastructure. In the U.S., 97% of the country is considered rural, but as of 2023, only 16.7% of the population lived in a rural area.

Americans get fast internet, but we pay more for it

An Open Technology Institute report analyzing 760 internet plans across 28 cities in Europe, Asia and North America found that consumers in the U.S. pay more on average for monthly internet service than consumers abroad. The study reports that the average U.S. internet price across all plans in its dataset is $68.38/mo. for standalone internet service, including equipment rental fees and discounts. The analysis also determined that while the U.S. does offer fast speeds, like those provided by fiber-optic internet, these speeds are still the most expensive in the U.S. 

Even though we get and use fast broadband speeds on average, that’s a lot to pay, and prices are increasing.

According to the FCC’s International Broadband Report, the U.S. came in at No. 21 of 26 countries on the “Fixed Hedonic Price Index” — which adjusts for “cost, demographic and quality differences across the countries.” 

Of course, the U.S. is more spread out geographically than most of the countries on the list, so costs for delivering broadband will necessarily be higher. But some heavy internet users might be better off here than anywhere else. 

“For so-called bandwidth hogs who stream lots and lots of video, the U.S. offers some of the lowest cost per megabit transmission speed and megabyte data delivered,” Penn State telecommunications professor Rob Frieden told Politifact. That’s one way to tilt the price-value ratio in your favor — start streaming more Netflix. 

Americans may be doing well on average, but it’s not spread equally

The Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) latest 2023 data shows 92.2% of U.S. households have access to internet speeds of 100 Mbps or above. However, satellite internet is often the only game in town in rural areas, and it can be expensive and have high latency. Still, new wireless providers like T-Mobile and Verizon have stepped in to offer inexpensive alternatives like fixed wireless to satellite in many rural areas. 

That said, those with access to fiber internet are largely concentrated around cities, likely skewing U.S. broadband averages significantly. Not everyone in the country benefits from that knowledge similarly.

We still have an internet divide in the U.S. While some people are getting 1,000 Mbps download speed — enough bandwidth to stream 4K video on 40 TVs simultaneously — others are struggling to check their emails. Allconnect’s regional internet connectivity reports dive deeper into this issue.

Find out where your state ranks for internet availability in Allconnect’s access report.

Top 25 cities for median internet speed

Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, boasts the fastest internet in the world at just over 310 Mbps. This goes back to the smallest countries in the world being able to invest in fiber internet. In the U.S., New York City takes the crown for the fastest speed at nearly 262 Mbps.

Global performance for median speeds over time

Median download speeds worldwide increased by over 10 Mbps in the last year, from June 2023 to 2024.

Fastest average fixed broadband download speed

Singapore has the fastest internet speed in the world at 285 Mbps since March 2023, with Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and Chile trading for second.

The future of U.S. internet speed

The U.S. certainly still has a lot of issues to work out with its broadband infrastructure — the rural internet divide chief among them — but the latest numbers are still encouraging. A median speed of 244 Mbps would be plenty for all but the highest-usage homes. The problem is just making sure everyone can access speeds that high. 

Studies show that fiber and fixed wireless providers are seeing connection increases. With speeds reaching 10 GB and more, fiber is the future. Fixed wireless hits 200 to 300 Mbps speed, keeping smart homes with two to three heavy internet users seamlessly online.

Fiber internet is expensive to install and requires miles of infrastructure, which explains why large parts of the U.S. don’t have it available yet. “You might have to run the cable across many things, including, but not limited to, highways, cemeteries, and state parks. Environmental obstacles within and around buildings can quickly turn your installation of fiber optic materials into a costly and time-consuming project,” reports Atlantech Online.

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