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US Download Speeds Ranked 15th, Upload Speeds 24th

A new analysis of fixed broadband speeds by Ookla indicates that the average download speed in the United States is now 64.17 Mbps, placing the country fifteenth in the world for downstream speeds. Average upload speed during the same period was 22.79 Mbps, ranking the US. 24th in the world for upstream speed. Ookla's latest report reflects 111 million tests initiated by 26 million unique users during the first two quarters of 2017.

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According to the full report, Comcast is ranked as the fastest ISP in the States, achieving a "Speed Score" of 69.58. Ookla says it determines this via "a modified trimean to demonstrate the download and upload speeds that are available across a provider’s network."

"Comcast’s XFINITY Internet is the fastest ISP in the U.S., achieving a Speed Score of 69.58 and providing faster speeds to their users than the other major providers in the U.S. during Q1-Q2 2017," notes the report. "Over the past year, XFINITY has been aggressively seeding the market with advanced modems capable of bonding more channels, delivering a more consistent experience for customers."

That said, it should be noted that Ookla has come under fire in recent years for shifting its analysis in such a way as to favor the nation's biggest ISPs. A few years back, Ookla (now owned by Ziff Davis) decided to eliminate the Net Index entirely and replace it with a more simplified broadband award matrix that small ISPs say leaves them holding the short end of the stick. Smaller companies and municipal broadband operations previously used NetIndex to highlight how many incumbent ISPs weren't keeping pace with customer demand.

Gone is that more nuanced analysis, replaced by reports like this that unabashedly praise giant carriers without mentioning things like the rise of usage caps in uncompetitive markets, or the tens of millions of customers stuck on aging telco DSL lines these companies simply refuse to upgrade at any real scale. Telco apathy in turn is resulting in a stronger cable monopoly in many areas, reducing incentive to shore up customer service or more seriously compete on price -- none of which is mentioned in the Ookla report.

Still, the report offers some interesting insights into the sector all the same (note the breakdown of performance by city), and is available in its entirety here.

Most recommended from 11 comments



Anon22f4e
@hal-pc.org

3 recommendations

Anon22f4e

Anon

Comcast upload for most customers lackluster

Avg US upload speed listed as 22.79 mbps, but Comcast is offering most users a pkg that is listed as 200/10 mbps (Blast) and only has decent upload on their gigabit offerings in select areas. Maybe when docsis 3.1 is pushed out to more areas over the next year, upload speed increases will hit the pkgs most Comcast users subscribe to.