Our dependence on the Internet is almost absolute these days, and if anything complicates things even more, it's the poor response from providers. The slow and expensive dynamic remains in force across a large part of the globe, and the best way to verify it is to download the latest report published by Akamai in its State of the Internet section. Technically, most indices are positive, but some regions remain tied to a too-low average speed.
Some of our readers might think I'm determined to start a kind of personal war against connectivity providers, but the truth is I'm not the only one. Complaints linked to Internet and/or mobile telephony top the list in many countries, and you don't need too deep an analysis to understand why: customers are not satisfied with the value-for-money of their plans. Personally, I don't criticize because I hate them, but because I want them to improve, and when we observe the progress of other countries, we know it's possible. The folks at Akamai do a good job recording that progress. Of course, the traffic through their servers isn't representative of the entire network, but it remains one of our best references.
The 2017 First-Quarter Report
The State of the Internet section has an update for the first quarter of 2017, and as expected, South Korea dominates most tables. Global average speed (28.6 Mbps) and adoption above 10, 15, and 25 megabits per second mark its pace, but according to the report it didn't record the highest "peak average speed": it ranked fifth with 121 megabits per second, while Singapore leads with 184.5 Mbps.
If we focus on the European continent, Spain ranks 14th with an average of 15.5 Mbps, and with the "peak average" it jumps to sixth place, 84.8 Mbps, just behind Belgium. If we move to adoption indices, Spain's growth was healthy year-over-year, but the first quarter shows a virtual stagnation.
If we move to the American continent, the situation is much worse. Only the United States and Canada have an average above double digits, with 18.7 and 16.2 Mbps respectively. Uruguay appears in third place on both lists: 9.5 Mbps average overall, and a "peak average" of 70 Mbps. Brazil raised its average speed by 51 percent year-over-year, however, that wasn't enough to exceed 7 Mbps. Very concerning is the connectivity of our friends in Venezuela and Paraguay, with averages that remain below two megabits per second.
The only way to complete these tables is to add data on the cost of each connection. Recently a chart appeared on Reddit, but if we go by the comments there, half of the information is incorrect.
This is where we make the classic call to our readers. We want to know what connection you have, how much you pay, and most importantly: whether you feel satisfied. Comments are open.
