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A new report has revealed the fastest internet speeds nationwide — and tens of millions of Americans could consider switching.
Spectrum tops the list, with the average customer enjoying a whopping 235 megabits per second (Mbps).
Followed by Xfinity, with 233Mbps and Cox, with 219Mpbs.
Many will be surprised to learn that the most popular internet providers – Verizon and AT&T – are the slowest at only 186 Mbps and 180 Mbps.
Spectrum, owned by Charter Communications, topped the list as the fastest internet in the US, while AT&T was the slowest – although it is one of the most popular services
Even if you have one of the best performing providers, there’s no guarantee you’ll get those speeds.
Internet speeds fluctuate when traffic is at its peak, data caps are loosened, or connections are throttled to maintain network performance.
This may be more likely in larger population cities that run on the same carriers, such as New York and New Jersey, which primarily use Verizon.
New York has more than eight million inhabitants and New Jersey has more than nine million.
The report was conducted by Internet speed testing company Ookla, which publishes quarterly data on Internet service providers.
Ookla speed uses a client and server testing engine that dynamically scales the number of connections to the server to saturate and accurately measure client-side connections up to 10 Gbps.
And the latest findings are from the first quarter of this year.
The company found that Spectrum led the way with a median download speed of 235 megabits per second (Mbps).
Bits are small data units, of which a megabit represents one million.
Spectrum, owned by Charter Communications, reports having more than 32 million customers in 41 states.
The basic package starts at $49 per month.
Xfinity, which reported 32.1 million customers at the end of 2022, came in second this quarter after leading in the previous one. The regular rate for this service starts at $77.00.
Comcast’s internet service is said to have 233 Mbps.
Cox, $49 a month clocked in at 219 Mbps, followed by the $49 Optimum at 196 Mbps and 190 Mbps for Frontier, which also starts at $49 a month.
In March, Verizon and AT&T were listed as the most popular services among Americans, but these companies failed to produce speeds in the recent test.
Verizon’s Fios, $44.99 per month, has a median download speed of 186 Mbps, and AT&T’s is 180 Mbps, with packages starting at $55 per month.
The FCC released a report in 2019 showing that 24.7 million Americans do not have access to broadband, but Microsoft’s data shows that number is much higher
Even if you have one of the best performing providers, there’s no guarantee you’ll get those speeds. Internet speeds fluctuate when traffic is at its peak
While the report shows average speeds, Ookla notes that not everyone with a specific service provider has the same internet speed.
The company found that Americans get an average download speed of 198 Mbps and an upload speed of 22 Mbps, ranking it ninth in the world.
Singapore was listed as having the highest median internet speeds in the world, at 237 Mbps, followed by China at 226 Mbps.
And the reason the US has the slowest speeds comes down to a lack of competition.
Tim Wu, a professor at Columbia Law School, shared The New York Times: ‘It’s just very simple economics.
“The average market has one or two serious internet providers and they set their prices at monopoly or duopoly prices.”
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler agrees with Wu.
“The majority of Americans have a choice of only two providers,” Wheeler wrote in a open letter.
‘That’s what economists call a ‘duopoly’, a marketplace that is typically characterized by little competition.
“Stop and let that sink in: Three-quarters of American homes have no competitive choice for the essential infrastructure for economy and democracy in the 21st century.”
The FCC released data in 2019 showing that 24.7 million Americans do not have access to broadband, but Microsoft’s analysis found that number to be much higher: 168.2 million.
Either way, people in the US being denied access has been an ongoing problem.
“A possible explanation for this shift could be the changing demographics of offline households as the online population continues to grow,” the National Telecommunications and Information Administration shared in a statement. rack.
“Another possibility is that bandwidth needs and expectations for what qualifies as acceptable high-speed Internet service have changed over time.”