U.S. broadband connectivity rates showed virtually no change between the first and second quarter of 2013, according to the latest Akamai State of the Internet Report, released this month.
The average U.S. broadband connection speed was 8.7 Mbps in the second quarter, Akamai said. That’s virtually unchanged from first quarter when the average speed was 8.6 Mbps.
The percentage of U.S. broadband users connecting at speeds above 10 Mbps also was virtually unchanged, measuring 24% compared with 25% in first quarter, when it saw a 14% jump from the previous quarter.
Akamai also found relatively small changes when it looked at the data on a state-by-state basis. The District of Columbia had the highest average connection speed in second quarter. But its average connection rate of 11.4 Mbps was lower than that of the top state from first quarter. In first quarter, Vermont had the highest average connection rate, which measured 12.7 Mbps.
Vermont was not among the top 10 states measured by average connection speed in second quarter, indicating that its average connection speed dropped below 10 Mbps. All states in the top 10 had average connection speeds of at least 10 Mbps.
As frequently occurs, the majority of states in the top 10 were in the east – including Massachusetts, Virginia, Delaware, New Hampshire, Maryland, New Jersey and Connecticut. The only two non-eastern states in the top 10 were Utah and Washington.
It may be too soon to say U.S. broadband connection speeds have plateaued, however. Despite the sluggishness from quarter to quarter, U.S. broadband connectivity rates were up considerably from last year. The nationwide average connection speed increased 22% compared to the same quarter of 2012. And the percentage of people connecting at speeds above 10 Mbps was up 43% over the same time period.
On the wireless side, two U.S. carriers saw substantial gains between first and second quarter, Akamai said. Akamai measures wireless connection speeds on a carrier-by-carrier basis. Three U.S. carriers – referenced simply as US-1, US-2 and US-3 – were measured in second quarter.
According to Akamai, one U.S. wireless carrier saw an increase in average connection speed of 238% compared to the same quarter of 2012. And another U.S. wireless carrier saw its average connection speed double over the same time period.
The three U.S. wireless carriers had average connection speeds ranging between 1.8 Mbps and 3.8 Mbps for second quarter, according to Akamai.
