The World’s Internet in 2018: Faster, Modernizing and Always On
When it comes to the internet, the news is mostly good for 2018. Download and upload speeds are increasing across the globe on both mobile and fixed broadband. 5G is on the horizon and gigabit service is expanding.
We looked at data from Speedtest IntelligenceTM, Ookla’s flagship data platform, from December 2017 through November 2018, to analyze everything from global internet speeds to the world’s fastest countries to when people are online. We also investigated which parts of the world are seeing the most benefit from high speed LTE on mobile and gigabit speeds on fixed broadband.
Mobile speeds increased more than 15% in 2018
The world’s average mobile download speed of 22.82 Mbps increased 15.2% over the past year, while mobile upload speed increased 11.6% to reach 9.19 Mbps.
With a mean download speed of 27.84 Mbps and a mean upload of 10.61 Mbps, worldwide speeds on iOS devices were faster than those on Android (21.35 Mbps download, 8.73 Mbps upload) in 2018. This is likely due to market factors as Android devices are more popular in emerging markets where internet speeds tend to be slower.
However, download speed on Android devices increased 19.0% and upload speed increased 15.1%, more than those on iOS (18.0% increase for download and 11.1% increase for upload), which is good news for those emerging markets.
Fixed broadband speeds increased more than 26% in 2018
On a global level, fixed broadband speeds were nearly twice as fast as those on mobile in 2018. The world’s average download speed on fixed broadband was 46.12 Mbps, 26.4% faster than last year. Upload speed increased 26.5% to 22.44 Mbps.
All said, though, both mobile and fixed broadband speeds increased at a slower rate in 2018 than they did in 2017.
Countries with the fastest internet in 2018
The countries with the fastest mean download speeds over mobile in the past 12 months were: Norway (63.19 Mbps), Iceland (58.68 Mbps), Qatar (55.17 Mbps), Singapore (54.71 Mbps) and the Netherlands (53.42 Mbps).
Singapore showed the world’s fastest mean download speeds over fixed broadband during the past twelve months at 175.13 Mbps. Next fastest were Iceland (153.03 Mbps), Hong Kong (138.31 Mbps), South Korea (114.67 Mbps) and Romania (109.90 Mbps).
To keep up with month-to-month internet speeds at a global level, visit the Speedtest Global Index.
Most improved countries for 2018 internet speeds
Costa Rica saw the largest increase in mobile download speed over the past year at 194.6%. Myanmar was second with 121.8%, Saudi Arabia third (113.2%), Iraq fourth (92.3%) and the Ukraine fifth (82.1%).
The countries with the largest improvements in upload speeds were Bangladesh (179.2%), the Ukraine (172.5%), Costa Rica (163.4%), Myanmar (146.9%) and Iraq (126.7%).
Paraguay saw the biggest increase in mean download speed over fixed broadband in the world over the past year at 268.6%. Guyana was second with 113.5%, Libya third (108.0%), Malaysia fourth (89.5%) and Laos fifth (76.2%).
Libya showed the most improvement in mean upload speed over fixed broadband during the past twelve months at 176.4%. Guyana was second with 116.1%, Malaysia third (95.2%), Belize fourth (88.9%) and Iraq fifth (76.8%).
4G is increasing mobile speeds
When we looked specifically at Speedtest results on 4G, we saw that mean download speeds increased in most countries. Costa Rica was most improved for 4G download speed as was the case with overall download speed on mobile increasing 184.3% year over year. Saudi Arabia was second at 110.2% and Myanmar third at 78.0%.
Most encouragingly, we saw the number of Speedtest results over 4G increase in all but 15 countries. This could indicate that 4G availability is expanding. Tanzania saw the greatest increase with 355.0% more tests over 4G in 2018 than in 2017. Malta was second at 267.2% and Algeria third at 143.7%. We can see this expansion on the map above as 4G results fill in areas of the globe that were previously blank.
Gigabit coverage is expanding globally
Gigabit is in the news as ISPs across the globe expand their high-speed networks. We looked at Speedtest results on fixed broadband in excess of 750 Mbps to see which cities are benefitting most. Comparing locations with 100 or more gigabit-speed results in 2017 with those in 2018, that expansion becomes obvious. In 2017, 60 countries met our gigabit test threshold. In 2018, 16 additional countries joined our gigabit list. We’re also seeing that more cities around the world now have access to gigabit speeds.
Also exciting is that cities which already had gigabit in 2017 saw increases in the number of gigabit-speed results in 2018 as ISPs continue to build out infrastructure across cities. Many cities saw their first real gigabit expansion in 2018. For example, we saw the number of gigabit tests in New Delhi increase from 119 gigabit speed results in 2017 to 20,239 in 2018, that’s a mind-boggling 16,908% increase. Chennai, India saw a 7,481% increase (from 763 to 57,840) and Cormeilles-en-Parisis, France jumped 6,480%. Huge leaps in the number of gigabit-speed results were also seen in Gdańsk, Poland (6,338%); Rome, Italy (4,909%); Lancashire, United Kingdom (3,962%); Ota, Japan (3,240%); São Paulo, Brazil (2,947%); Hangzhou, China (2,669%) and Turda, Romania (2,636%).
When people are online
The internet is always on, but we were surprised to see how consistently and steeply usage fell off on both mobile and fixed broadband after 9 pm local time. Normalizing the time of day for Speedtest results from around the globe, we found that usage bottoms out at 4 am and then climbs steeply again until 10 am. From there, the internet gets gradually busier until that night time drop off.
Internet in the world’s largest countries
The world’s five most populous countries are notably absent from the lists of fastest and most improved countries on mobile and fixed broadband. China, India, the U.S., Indonesia and Brazil represent about 46% of the world’s population, which makes their internet speeds worth noting nonetheless.
| Country | Mean Mobile Download Speed (Mbps) | % Improvement in Mobile Speed | Mean Fixed Download Speed (Mbps) | % Improvement in Fixed Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 30.96 | -5.8% | 76.03 | 42.5% |
| India | 9.11 | 15.2% | 23.00 | 50.4% |
| United States | 28.50 | 22.3% | 92.77 | 37.3% |
| Indonesia | 10.39 | 5.3% | 14.89 | 18.3% |
| Brazil | 18.65 | 29.3% | 22.95 | 39.4% |
Mobile internet speeds in the world’s largest countries
China had the fastest average mobile download speed among the world’s most populous countries in the past twelve months. However, China’s mobile download speed decreased during that time. The United States is fast catching up with China on mobile download speed.
Brazil occupied a middle ground for mobile download speed among the world’s most populous countries and showed the fastest rate of increase. India and Indonesia were at the bottom of this list. While the two nations show similar mobile download speeds to each other, India’s mobile download speed is improving much more quickly than Indonesia’s.
Fixed broadband speeds in the largest countries in the world
The United States showed the fastest fixed broadband download speed among the world’s most populous countries over the past year. China was second, India and Brazil nearly tie for third and Indonesia follows.
India showed the largest improvement in mean download speed over fixed broadband of the world’s five largest countries. China was second, Brazil third, the U.S. fourth and Indonesia fifth.
We’ll be back throughout 2019 to report on the state of the world’s internet as it evolves. Until then, take a Speedtest to find out how your network compares.
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