Pity Nevada and Rhode Island, the only states to see Internet speeds slow down between the first and second quarters of the year, according to a new report.
The vast majority of states saw Internet speeds accelerate in the second quarter from the quarter before: seven even saw double-digit increases in average speeds between the first two quarters of the year, according to Internet infrastructure provider Akamai. Speeds in the second quarter of the year were also universally—and often significantly—higher from the year before, according to data provided in the organization’s quarterly State of the Internet Report.
The latest report was characterized by a number of new records, editor David Belson noted in a press release. For the first time, the global average connection speed rose above 4 megabits per second, the threshold used by the Federal Communications Commission to define “broadband.” All of the top 10 states had average peak speeds above 50 mbps in the second quarter—another first, according to the report. Akamai provides cloud services to some of the world’s largest Web sites, in part to more quickly deliver content to visitors.
On average, the Internet is more than twice as fast in Delaware than Arkansas
In terms of absolute speeds, Delaware had the fastest Internet speeds at 16.2 mbps, followed by just over 14 in Virginia; Washington. D.C. was next with speeds just below 14 mbps. The Internet was slowest in Arkansas, where average speeds were 7.5 mbps.
Average speed, as of the second quarter. (Darker shading represents higher values.)
Quarterly speeds rose in 48 states
Internet speeds saw double-digit increases between the first two quarters of the year in seven states: Delaware, Connecticut, Missouri, Montana, Wyoming, Washington and New Jersey. Delaware had the biggest average quarterly increase in Internet speeds, at 24 percent. Connecticut was next at 17 percent, followed by Missouri at 176 percent.
Change in speed between the first and second quarters. (Darker shading represents higher values.)
Every state saw at least double-digit increases, year-over-year
Four states saw Internet speeds grow more than 50 percent between the second quarters of 2013 and 2014. Speeds in Kansas rose 106 percent, while Maryland had a 70 percent increase, Arkansas had a 64 percent rise and Delaware had a 50 percent increase.
Change in speed between the second quarters of 2013 and 2014. (Darker shading represents higher values.)
