Following on from previous posts looking at the state of Internet connectivity in the UK, we have unearthed a very useful report from Akamai – a major content service provider. In their report – the State of the Internet (opens as .pdf) – Akamai position the UK and other countries across a range of connectivity measures for Qtr 4, 2011.
Measures of most interest with reference to the UK’s stated targets for superfast broadband include, the ‘average Internet speed (in Mbps)’ and the ‘% of connections faster than 5Mbps’. Using an Olympics analogy, far from being medal hopefuls, the report suggests that the UK is currently a ‘connectivity also ran’.
In previous articles, we have argued that the UK target of being “the best broadband network in Europe” is unrealistic in terms of current connectivity levels (see what Peter Cochrane, ex CTO of BT thinks of UK ambitions in this area). We have highlighted that although some progress has been made (see Fast Internet Showdown Digital Britain versus Digital Europe) it is also not time to rest on our laurels. We have questioned how well we are really doing compared to our European and global counterparts, see this guest article from Energise 2-0 – The Broadband Future is superfast: time for action.
The Akamai report positions the UK significantly behind our European and global competitors. As Figure 1 shows, we are currently 16th in terms of average broadband speed and 25th globally.
Figure 1: Europe Average Connection Speeds
Source: Akamai – State of the Internet, Q4 2011
In terms of the % of connectors with speeds of 5Mbps or above, we fare little better – we are the 15th fastest in Europe (24th globally). With only 30% of our population in this speed bracket, we trail the Netherlands (who are almost ‘out of sight’ with 67% of their population on 5Mbps + connections).
Figure 2: Europe High Broadband Connectivity
Source: Akamai – State of the Internet, Q4 2011
The Akamai report also alludes to performance issues with reported speeds dropping significantly during peak usage times. The authors cite one survey where UK download speeds fell by 35% on average during times of peak usage (7-9pm).
It appears clear…
If we are serious about winning the connectivity race (our politicians have already made claims in this area) then we need to shape up. The gun has fired, the race has started and on this evidence we have barely got out of the starting blocks.
As always your comments are most welcome.
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