Average US Broadband Speeds No Great ShakesAverage US Broadband Speeds No Great Shakes

If 25 Mbit/s is the new broadband threshold, then US connectivity leaves a lot to be desired. (See FCC Sets 25/3 as New Broadband Bar.)

According to Akamai's latest State of the Internet Report, only Virginia and Delaware have average Internet connection speeds above 15 Mbit/s, or what Akamai calls "4K readiness" level. The other eight states in the top ten in Akamai's report have average connection speeds between 12.6 Mbit/s (in New York) and 14.4 Mbit/s (in Washington DC). The states with the lowest speeds -- including Alaska, Kentucky, New Mexico and Arkansas -- all have average connections running just below 8 Mbit/s.

The rollout of Gigabit broadband access networks is spreading. Find out what's happening where in our dedicated Gigabit Cities content channel here on Light Reading.

In good news, however, average Internet speeds have gone up across all states compared to a year ago. And, with targeted gigabit broadband deployments, peak connection speeds are also rising. Delaware takes top prize with an average peak connection speed of 75.4 Mbit/s. Arkansas trails at the bottom of the list of states with an average peak connection speed of only 34 Mbit/s.

From a global perspective, US speeds don't make the top-ten charts. The average connection speed across America is only 11.1 Mbit/s, which ranks it at number 16 among countries worldwide. The peak connection speed in the US averages out at 49.4 Mbit/s, which ranks it at number 22 globally.

— Mari Silbey, special to Light Reading