Global average internet connection speeds have grown over the past year by 24% to reach 3.9Mbps following a 1.6% increase in the first quarter of 2014, writes Steve Montgomery. South Korea leads with an average of 23.6Mbps; six countries had speeds below 1Mbps, with Libya trailing at 0.5Mbps. This is the finding of Akamai’s State of the Internet Q1 2014 report.
A bandwidth of 15Mbps is required to deliver 4K (Ultra HD) adaptive bitrate streams. Eleven percent of connections reach this 4K ‘ready’ speed, spread across 47 countries/regions. Again, South Korea leads, with 60% of its connections at this rate.
“While there is room for improvement in high-speed broadband adoption in some areas of the world, the trend is very positive,” said David Belson, author of the report. “Steady growth suggests a strong, global foundation is being built for next-generation content and services like 4K video and that connectivity will continue to evolve to support the growing demands these emerging technologies will place on the internet.”
