Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

The internet is getting faster — but how fast depends on where you live

Internet speed in the U.S. ranks 10th, far behind No. 1 South Korea.

Rani Molla
Rani Molla was a senior correspondent at Vox and has been focusing her reporting on the future of work. She has covered business and technology for more than a decade — often in charts — including at Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal.

Good news for anyone reading this site: Internet speeds are getting faster.

Globally, fixed internet connection speeds averaged 7.2 megabits per second this quarter, up 2.3 percent from last quarter and up 15 percent compared with a year ago, according to content delivery network Akamai’s newest State of the Internet Report.

The U.S. entered the list of top 10 countries with the fastest average fixed internet speeds this quarter. Its 18.7 Mbps speeds are up 22 percent year over year, thanks in part to internet service provider upgrades. South Korea, with average internet speeds of 28.6 Mbps, has the fastest internet of any of the countries Akamai measures.

Within the U.S., Washington, D.C. has the fastest average internet connectivity at 28.1 Mbps. The fastest state is Delaware at 25 Mbps, while the slowest is Idaho at 12 Mbps. The Federal Communications Commission considers download speeds of 25 Mbps or higher to be broadband.


This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

See More:

More in Technology

Podcasts
Are humanoid robots all hype?Are humanoid robots all hype?
Podcast
Podcasts

AI is making them better — but they’re not going to be doing your chores anytime soon.

By Avishay Artsy and Sean Rameswaram
Future Perfect
The old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemicThe old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemic
Future Perfect

Glycol vapors, explained.

By Shayna Korol
Future Perfect
Elon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wantsElon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wants
Future Perfect

It’s not about who wins. It’s about the dirty laundry you air along the way.

By Sara Herschander
Life
Why banning kids from AI isn’t the answerWhy banning kids from AI isn’t the answer
Life

What kids really need in the age of artificial intelligence.

By Anna North
Culture
Anthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque messAnthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque mess
Culture

“Your AI monster ate all our work. Now you’re trying to pay us off with this piece of garbage that doesn’t work.”

By Constance Grady
Future Perfect
Some deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapySome deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapy
Future Perfect

A medical field that almost died is quietly fixing one disease at a time.

By Bryan Walsh