Streaming, HD audio and video, cloud gaming and plenty of other things "as a service" are creating a constant demand for faster and cheaper connections. That is especially true in the mobile space, with smartphones and tablets acting as the primary device for millions of families. So, which are the countries with the fastest mobile networks in the world? The folks at Ookla take care of calculating average and median speeds in different regions every month, producing a ranking worth looking at more closely.
If there is one thing that truly transcends borders, cultures and languages, it is our never-ending conflict with telecom and internet providers. Services are expensive, slow and unstable, new technologies are adopted at a snail's pace, and getting even a hint of support (courtesy of mediocre bots that bounce us from one place to another) can turn into a nightmare.
Still, we have to recognize that average speeds keep climbing, despite some periods of stagnation (probably related to the impact of the pandemic). The folks at Ookla, known for its popular popular Speedtest, are in a privileged position to collect and process data about our connection speeds. Their results are published monthly on the Speedtest Global Index and let us see plenty of details, including the countries with the fastest mobile networks in the world.
Which are the countries with the fastest mobile networks?
Ookla uses two methods to present its data: the median and the mean. The conventional averages will be available as a reference until February 2023, but things don't change much when it comes to identifying the number one today. The first place belongs to the United Arab Emirates, with a speed of 135.35 megabits per second. Norway stays very close at 134.73 megabits per second, and Qatar rounds out the podium, climbing one position from the previous month, with 120.69 megabits per second.
Looking at the Top 10, I have to say I'm not all that surprised by the results. There are rich countries (especially those with access to what are generically called "petrodollars"), countries with a high technological profile (South Korea is "the" example here), and/or a relatively small population. Still, China sits in position 11 (83.43 Mbps), you have to drop to position 23 to find the United States (61.12 Mbps), and Spain fell six places to rank 55, with 34.26 Mbps.
What about Latin America? If we limit ourselves to mobile networks, the news isn't so good. The best placed is Uruguay, in position 53 (34.43 Mbps), Mexico is in 65th, climbing eight places (29.81 Mbps), and Chile, which appears second on the fixed internet list, here drops to position 81 (22.49 Mbps). In short, there is much to improve. Whether we calculate median or average, Ookla's numbers confirm that connection speeds globally need to grow further.
Source: Ookla
