Tag: Consumer

Ookla Research™ Articles
| November 7, 2022

17 U.S. Airports With Supersonic Wi-Fi (And 12 that Are Still Stuck at the Gate)

Consumer

The holiday travel season is fast approaching in the United States and with it the anticipation of spending more time than you’d hoped at the airport. To help you know whether you’ll have the speeds you need to freely stream videos or whether you’ll need to download those shows in advance, we’ve expanded our previous analysis to examine free airport Wi-Fi at 50 of the busiest airports in the U.S. We’ve also taken a look at some of the other Wi-Fi options available at airports across the country to see how you can get the best network experience (even if you have to pay for it).

Free Wi-Fi at 17 airports beat 100 Mbps

Chart of U.S. airports with over 100 Mbps internet speeds over free Wi-Fi

Speedtest Intelligence® shows Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, and San Francisco International Airport were among the fastest free airport Wi-Fi among the 50 busiest airports in the U.S. with median download speeds of 203.00 Mbps, 177.16 Mbps, and 162.38 Mbps, respectively, during Q3 2022. Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu (158.05 Mbps) and Oakland International Airport (154.62 Mbps) rounded out the top five. All 17 of the airports at this performance level showed free airport Wi-Fi that’s capable of keeping the whole family entertained online for as long as your devices hold a charge.

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport splits their free airport Wi-Fi among four separate SSIDs (the name of the network you log into), which we have listed separately in these results. The performance does not vary widely between them, but you will see that airport listed here and in the list below.

20 airports with 50-100 Mbps download speed over free airport Wi-Fi

Chart of U.S. airports with 50-100 Mbps internet speeds over free Wi-Fi

John Wayne Airport, two SSIDs at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Detroit Metropolitan Airport, and Washington Dulles International Airport were at the top of the next performance tier for free airport Wi-Fi. Travelers at airports with Wi-Fi speeds in this range should have enough speed to adequately rebook flights as needed on one device while streaming distractions on another.

Note that Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas has two SSIDs on this list with comparable speeds. Philadelphia has a second SSID on the list below with a much lower speed, so you’ll want to make sure you’re connecting to “Free PHL Airport WiFi” when possible, rather than “Free PHL Airport WiFi-24”.

Pittsburgh and Houston have the slowest free airport Wi-Fi among 12 airports below 50 Mbps

Chart of U.S. airports with less than 50 Mbps internet speeds over free Wi-Fi

Internet performance might be an issue at airports on this lowest tier. While one device connected to a network that’s offering 20-40 Mbps might have no issues streaming 4K video, airports are notoriously high-volume places as travelers sit and wait for flights, mobile devices in hand for as long as it takes. The real issue is that on high traffic travel days (or worse, if there’s a weather delay) the connection might bog down. Airports at the bottom of our list — like Pittsburgh International Airport (5.23 Mbps median download speed) and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (8.79 Mbps) and William P. Hobby Airport (8.90 Mbps) in Houston — have the least leeway for performance to drop and still be usable, especially in an emergency situation when folks most want to connect.

Wi-Fi speeds decreased at four airports

Our most recent global analysis of free airport Wi-Fi included seven of these airports (over eight SSIDs, with Denver having two). The nominal download speed decreased when comparing Q1 2022 to Q3 2022 in four of those airports: Sea-Tac (32.06 Mbps drop), O’Hare (29.10 Mbps drop), Los Angeles (20.74 Mbps drop), and San Francisco (13.87 Mbps drop). Dallas/Fort Worth showed a 7.02 Mbps increase in median download speed over the same period. There was no meaningful difference in download speed between quarters at Hartsfield-Jackson and on both SSIDs at Denver. We generally expect speeds to improve over time as airports and internet service providers upgrade equipment. When airport Wi-Fi speeds decline we usually expect it’s due to that infrastructure not keeping up with increases in passenger volume or internet usage.

If you’re counting, you’ll see that we have data for 49 airports above, this is because there were insufficient samples at San Diego International Airport for us to analyze to our statistical standards.

Wi-Fi on other SSIDs

While most of the free airport Wi-Fi we saw had more than adequate speeds to do most things on your mobile device, there are other Wi-Fi options if you find that the free Wi-Fi is bogged down by too many users or if you just can’t find the popup to accept the terms and conditions required to connect to the local network. We looked at Speedtest® results across SSIDs to see if your best option might be Wi-Fi at an airport lounge or club or another option entirely.

Wi-Fi at airport lounges and clubs

We found Speedtest results for seven major airport lounge and club chains that serve a variety of airports. Wi-Fi is often free at these locations for folks who have paid for the privilege of lounge access, but median download speeds varied widely by airport within each brand so the Wi-Fi alone may not always be worth the price of admission.

The Alaska Lounge was the only lounge where we saw median download speeds in excess of 100 Mbps in all locations with sufficient samples to analyze, from 100.17 Mbps in Portland to 334.23 Mbps at LAX. The United Club showed everywhere from 57.98 Mbps at Dulles to 232.85 Mbps at SeaTac, and The Delta Sky Club ranged from 57.35 Mbps in Honolulu to 123.23 Mbps in Atlanta. American Airlines Lounge had median download speeds between 5.08 Mbps in Phoenix Sky Harbor and 74.94 Mbps at SFO and British Airways Lounge Wi-Fi download speed was between 25.00 Mbps at Dulles and 56.40 at Boston’s Logan Airport.

Non-airline lounges were equally variable with The Centurion Lounge featuring download speeds from 19.55 Mbps at SeaTac to 127.25 Mbps at George Bush Intercontinental, while The Club fluctuated from 12.90 Mbps in Orlando to 108.79 Mbps in New Orleans.

With such wide variations in Wi-Fi performance we can’t recommend any specific lounge. Your best bet is to take a Speedtest at your regular connections so you know what your options are next time you fly through.

Other Wi-Fi options

Of course there are still more companies that offer Wi-Fi at airports either as part of a tie-in with another business (like your mobile operator or credit card), by subscribing to a paid service, or as part of a larger deal with the airport. Our analysis turned up Speedtest results for three such Wi-Fi options at multiple airports in the U.S.: Boingo, Passpoint, and Skyfi. Median download speeds for Boingo were between 51.41 Mbps at LAX and 149.49 Mbps at Oakland. Passpoint Wi-Fi download speeds showed a low of 10.15 Mbps in Miami and a high of 106.59 Mbps in Oakland. And Skyfi’s median download speeds ranged between 50.15 Mbps in Orlando and 100.04 at LAX. It’s worth checking out which other Wi-Fi services you might have access to before you leave the house.

Overall, travelers should be pleased with the news on airport Wi-Fi in the U.S. Speeds are mostly good and there are a lot of options for travelers if one network gets crowded. Now you just have to remember to charge your devices before you pack them. If you’re traveling this holiday season, download the Speedtest app for Android or iOS before you go, then take a Speedtest at the airport to see how your experience compares.

Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.

Consumer

About the Author

Isla McKetta

Ookla Research™ Articles
| November 7, 2023

Improvements in Free Airport Wi-Fi: The Holiday Gift You Didn’t Know You Needed

Consumer

With the holiday travel season on the horizon in the United States, we checked back in on our previous analysis of free airport Wi-Fi at 50 of the busiest airports in the U.S. to see what you can expect when you’re waiting for your flight home to see the family. We found you may have a lot to be thankful for this year. Three more airports have free Wi-Fi download speeds over 100 Mbps than last year. Read on for detailed performance at the specific airports you’ll be flying through.

20 airports have free fixed broadband Wi-Fi at over 100 Mbps

Fixed Broadband Internet Speeds Over Free Wi-Fi at U.S. Airports
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q3 2023
A map showing fixed broadband speeds in selected airports in the United States.

Speedtest Intelligence® shows Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, and Oakland International Airport, were among the fastest free airport Wi-Fi among the 50 busiest airports in the U.S. with median download speeds of 259.37 Mbps, 210.09 Mbps, and 206.25 Mbps, respectively, during Q3 2023. Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (187.58 Mbps) and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (178.32 Mbps) rounded out the top five. San Francisco International Airport (155.99 Mbps) slipped down the list compared to last year. 100 Mbps is more than fast enough to stream video and keep the whole family entertained for as long as your devices hold a charge.

On the other end of performance, six airports (William P. Hobby Airport, Raleigh-Durham International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport on SSID Free PHL Airport WiFi-24, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, and Logan International Airport) showed median download speeds over Wi-Fi of less than 25 Mbps, the threshold set by the FCC to qualify as broadband. Learn more about how much speed you need for specific activities here.

There was one change to our airport list this year, which is based on passenger volume: John Glenn Columbus International Airport was removed from the list and Kahului Airport added. We have not included Kansas City International Airport or San Diego International Airport because there were insufficient samples.

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport splits their free airport Wi-Fi among four separate SSIDs for different terminals, which we have listed separately in these results. The performance does not vary widely enough between them to hang out in the wrong terminal, but if you’re in Philadelphia you definitely want to choose “Free PHL Airport WiFi” when possible, rather than “Free PHL Airport WiFi-24”.

Mobile performance at 24 airports beats 100 Mbps

Mobile Broadband Internet Speeds Over Free Wi-Fi at U.S. Airports
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q3 2023
A map showing mobile broadband speeds in selected airports in the United States.

Speedtest Intelligence® shows John Wayne Airport, Midway International Airport, St. Louis Lambert International Airport, Salt Lake City International Airport, and Sacramento International Airport were among the airports with the fastest mobile download speeds on our list in the U.S. with median download speeds of 369.29 Mbps, 283.56 Mbps, 281.74 Mbps, 277.65 Mbps, and 275.87 Mbps, respectively, during Q3 2023.

Three airports (Washington Dulles International Airport, Orlando International Airport, and William P. Hobby Airport) showed median download speeds over mobile of less than 25 Mbps.

Wi-Fi or mobile? The airports where it makes a difference

Wi-Fi is the correct choice at 12 airports where download speed over mobile network service is significantly slower than the free airport Wi-Fi. Free airport Wi-Fi is 291% faster than mobile service at Orlando International Airport, 225% at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, 193% at Washington Dulles International Airport, and 110% at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Wi-Fi at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport was 91% faster than mobile, 87% at San Francisco International Airport, 79% at Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport, 72% at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, 62% at John F. Kennedy International Airport, 47% at Harry Reid International Airport, 46% at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport, and 42% at Baltimore/Washington International Airport.

Twenty-one airports had faster download speeds over mobile than over free airport Wi-Fi during Q2 2023. Mobile service at Logan International Airport was a whopping 1,037% faster than airport Wi-Fi. At Tampa International Airport, mobile was 851% faster than Wi-Fi, and mobile was 341% faster than airport Wi-Fi at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

Mobile service was 3X faster than airport Wi-Fi at Salt Lake City International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport, Indianapolis International Airport, Southwest Florida International Airport, and John Wayne Airport. Mobile was 2X faster than airport Wi-Fi at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Sacramento International Airport, Midway International Airport, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Portland International Airport, Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, and Detroit Metropolitan Airport. And mobile service was 1X faster than airport Wi-Fi at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Kahului Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Denver International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.

We know from our work with Ekahau® that optimizing Wi-Fi at airports is particularly challenging. There can be up to 900 people waiting at each boarding gate, especially during busy travel periods. Airport IT teams have to decide how many Wi-Fi access points to put in each location and how to balance the load across all those access points. Not to mention that mobile hotspots can interfere with all this careful planning. All of this to say that the averages we report here are based on real-world data, but your experience may differ, especially on a busy travel day.

Based on this data, we predict your airport Wi-Fi experience this year will be a big improvement over last year. You can always do your part by downloading at least a few of your entertainment options before you leave the house. While you’re downloading, don’t forget the Speedtest apps for Android and iOS. Help out travelers next year by taking a Speedtest at the airport to share your experience.

Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.

Consumer

About the Author

Isla McKetta

Ookla Research™ Articles
| October 24, 2023

You Did It! Speedtest Reaches 50 Billion Tests!

Consumer

Speedtest® has always been about the people. Built by a few to help the many, Speedtest.net has grown from a side project to a global brand with a full set of apps, from a tool used by select gamers to test their ping to a resource used by millions of people (and one superhero) to diagnose and measure internet connectivity around the world. And anonymized data from Speedtest now fuels internet service providers, mobile operators, governments, and NGOs with the information they need to improve internet connectivity for everyone. That’s because of you. Collectively you have helped us achieve over 50 billion Speedtest results. Thank you!

50 Billion Speedtests Taken Animation

How Speedtest has grown

The internet has changed a lot since that first touch of the “Go” button. Speeds have improved dramatically, new technologies like 5G have taken hold, and more and more people have gained internet access across the world.

Timeline of median download speeds across Speedtest's history

In 2006 when we reached our first billion tests, we didn’t yet have mobile apps and the median download speed of fixed broadband for the world was 1.48 Mbps. By 2015 we had 10 billion results, the median mobile download speed was 7.87 Mbps and the median download for fixed broadband was 10.08 Mbps. Fast forward to today when we have over 50 billion Speedtest results and the world averages for mobile and fixed broadband download speed are 47.81 Mbps and 85.06 Mbps, respectively.

Thank you again for helping make Speedtest the global brand it is today. If you want to help us in our mission to improve connectivity for all, take a Speedtest or download the apps for Android or iOS to be part of a movement.

Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.

Consumer
Ookla News

About the Author

Ookla

Ookla Research™ Articles
| December 14, 2016

6 Quick Tips to Fix Your Family’s Slow Internet

Consumer

If you secretly suspect your parents invited you home to not only see your darling face but also because they’re waiting for you to move the last 12 months of photos from digital camera to computer, you are not alone. Adult children of baby boomers are frequently tasked with tech support and a visit home is the perfect time for your family to capture your attention.

While this may seem like a chore because the internet feels so obvious to you, you’re probably rocking some untapped skills that could save your family a lot of time and frustration. If you want to give your family the gift of faster internet (and maybe show off a little), try this simple DIY home internet audit at the old homestead.

Houston, do we even have a problem?

Before you dive in with fancy fixes and shiny new equipment, it helps to get the lay of the land. Visit Speedtest.net for a free, quick assessment of how fast your parents’ internet speeds actually are. Or, connect to their Wi-Fi and then run our mobile Android or iOS app. The average download speed for the US is just over 50 Mbps for broadband connections. If you’re looking at speeds within 10 Mbps of that, you’re golden. If you’re not, you might have a little work to do. Check out that link above to see more precise city and state averages to find out what’s achievable in your hometown.

Connection type icons

Step 1. Find out what type of service they’re paying for

If your parents’ internet bill says “dial-up” anywhere on it, you’ve just found the source of slow speeds. Infrastructure matters and even the fastest internet service provider (ISP) in the world is limited by the infrastructure your family is connecting with.

Whether you ask your parents to pony up for better service or you decide to pitch in to get them a faster plan, you’re already on the road to improving your family’s connection to the internet.

Step 2. Search out their modem and wireless router

Chances are that your parents have a modem/router combination that’s leased from their ISP. Many, many people do. If this is the case, you’re looking for one device. If not, you’re looking for two that are likely in close proximity to one another.

Whether one device or two, you want a modem and router that are:

  • New(ish). While it is technically possible to use the same modem and/or router for five or more years, it’s a terrible idea if speed is at all a concern. Most modems and/or routers really only have a two- to three-year lifespan, and if your parents have waited longer than that to upgrade their equipment, those devices are probably slowing whatever speeds they are paying for waaaaay down. The latest routers operate on the 802.11ac standard. If your family’s computer is compatible with that, a new router makes a great birthday or holiday gift. Especially if you set it up for them. If you don’t know what to look for, check out PC Mag’s “Best Wireless Routers for 2016.”
  • Centrally located. Your parents’ modem is probably close to where service comes into the house. Or it’s in an office or a closet. The location of the modem doesn’t really matter because it’s just translating the service into something your parents can actually use. What does matter (and this matters A LOT) is where the router is located. If it’s out of range of where your family members actually use their Wi-Fi, they’re likely to suffer from slow speeds and dropped connections. Don’t put a router in a basement closet. That’s where your childhood trophies live. Even if a router is located near the computer, make sure it isn’t obstructed by objects like doors, chimneys or thick plaster walls that might weaken the signal. And if your parents still live in the big family home, consider setting up a wireless repeater for them.
  • Password-protected. Bandwidth matters. And while your parents probably aren’t streaming Netflix while playing a PlayStation game in one room and uploading 1,000 photos at a time in another, if their network isn’t password-protected, they might be inadvertently providing internet to the neighbors. Sharing may be caring, but it’s okay to expect everyone on the street to pay for their own internet. Especially if there’s a bandwidth hog on the block.

Step 3. Check the age of their computers

Computers, tablets and phones are a little like race horses, once they reach a certain age, they’re never again going to set any records for speed (particularly when it comes to supporting modern Wi-Fi standards like 802.11ac). It’s perfectly okay if your family is happy plugging along in a bygone age of internet speeds, but if that were true you wouldn’t be reading this article. If all the devices you come across are of a certain age, it might be time to upgrade at least one to the modern era and designate that laptop or tablet for any internet use that requires speed.

Step 4. “Have you tried turning it off and on again?”

You’ve probably heard this line any time you’ve reached out to a tech support professional for anything. That’s because it works! Turning a computer, router or modem off and then back on can sometimes clear up lingering issues present on the network. Simply unplug the power from both the modem and the router. After 60 seconds, plug the modem back in. Give it a minute or two to fully reboot, after which you can plug back in the router. If the internet’s running faster, you’ve already won.

Step 5. If all else fails… Call the ISP

If you’ve gotten this far, you have done an awesome job troubleshooting your family’s internet speed woes. But some things you just can’t fix on your own. So if you’ve discovered slow speeds despite a rocking router in a central location, newish devices and a squatter-free network, it’s time to call in the pros. Take heart that you’ve done your due diligence and see if you can schedule a service window before you skip town.

Step 6. Download the Speedtest app

Congratulations! You’ve probably just improved your family’s internet speeds by leaps and bounds. You’ve certainly made them feel loved. If you want to build on all this good work, download the free Speedtest app for your parents’ Windows and Mac computers. That way they’ll have a quick measure of internet speed to reference the next time they need your help. If your dad’s like mine, he’ll present you with a spreadsheet of results graphed out over time so you can really dig into the data. Yay.

For extra bonus brownie points

If your family is still experiencing internet issues, or if you just want to pay your parents back for the lifetime of free storage they’ve provided for your childhood mementos, go the extra mile with any (or all) of the following tech-y projects:

  1. Uploading and cataloging photos
  2. Installing and running antivirus software
  3. Deleting toolbars
  4. Creating a family email distribution list
  5. Managing passwords
  6. Printing address labels for their holiday cards
  7. Removing cookies
  8. Clearing the cache
  9. Blocking pop-ups

Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.

Consumer
Improve Your Speeds

About the Author

Isla McKetta

Ookla Research™ Articles
| March 7, 2019

13 Simple Ways to Put Your Speedtest Result to Work

Consumer

So you took a Speedtest… now what? It’s fun to measure how fast your internet connection is, but you may not realize that you can take those results a step further. We’ve gathered some fantastic ways to put your newfound information to use so you can save yourself time, money and data.

But first a very quick primer on internet testing and what speeds you should be looking for. Skip ahead if you’re already a pro.

How Speedtest works

Once you press “Go,” Speedtest sends packets of data up from your device to our network of local servers and back again. This measures the actual speed your connection is experiencing for downloads and uploads and also shows your ping (the time it takes for your connection to respond after you make a request).

how-speedtest-works-3

Not all speeds are created equal. You need a much faster connection for streaming video than you do for emailing, for example. Here’s a general guide:


Tips to get the most out of your Speedtest result

Get extra mileage out of your Speedtest result with these simple ideas.

Make work easy

Prepare for video calls

You need strong upload and download speeds for all those video conferences that are rapidly becoming the norm in today’s business environment. Take a Speedtest to make sure that your upload speed is at least 2 Mbps so you don’t drop a call with a very important client.

Work remotely (and efficiently)

Take a Speedtest to see which coffee shops will keep you connected while you “work from home.”

Know when to upload large files

If you frequently upload large files — videographers, photographers and architects, we’re looking at you — you know how very long that can take. Before you resign yourself to a lifetime of overnight uploads, experiment with Speedtest throughout the week to see when your upload speeds are best and worst. Then use that information to streamline your workflow.

Network testing and improvement

Troubleshoot your connection

Sometimes it feels like your connection is lagging. But how do you know if it’s your computer, your Wi-Fi extender, your router or something else holding you back? Run Speedtest from different devices in different scenarios (connected to Wi-Fi, hard-wired, in different rooms, etc.) to better understand where your chokepoints are. If nothing helps, try these troubleshooting tips.

Negotiate with your Internet Service Provider (ISP)

If you feel like you’re paying for a lot more speed than you’re getting, take a Speedtest. Then share the result with your ISP to see if they can help you spot neighborhood bottlenecks or maybe adjust your bill to match the speeds you’re actually receiving. Our test is your independent verification of actual speeds.

Compare mobile service

One of the best ways to see which mobile operator is right for you is to get a group of people with different operators to run Speedtest from their phones all at the same time in the same location. You’ll get quick insight into who’s really fastest in your area.

Choose a mobile operator

With background sampling turned on, Android users can see a map of which operators have the best coverage in places that matter to you. That could be at home, work, during your commute or in your favorite leisure spot.

Entertainment and leisure

Save your data

A Speedtest result can tell you whether the Wi-Fi when you’re out and about is good enough to turn your cellular connection off. If it is, you can stream content to your heart’s content without using up your data allowances.

Rate your hotel

The Wi-Fi may be free, but is it good? Take a Speedtest to see if you’re getting a real benefit or if you’re better off paying for a connection somewhere else next time.

Make sure your vacation rental is Wi-Fi-ready

Ask your potential host to share a Speedtest result from the property so you know whether you’ll have to wait until you get home to post all those vacation pics.

Boast about your gigabit connection

You love that you have the fastest connection on the block (or even in the neighborhood). Take a Speedtest and then casually share your results somewhere everyone can see.

Get game-ready

Test your ping to make sure you’re not going to get knocked out early by lag. Your gameplay deserves better than that.

Gain peace of mind

Let’s be real, sometimes it helps just to have independent verification that there really is a problem. Take a Speedtest the next time your connection is lagging and take heart… it isn’t you.

Excited to try some of these out? Try Speedtest today on the web, Android or iOS. If you’re really serious about your internet testing, check out our desktop apps.

Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.

Consumer
Improve Your Speeds

About the Author

Isla McKetta

Ookla Research™ Articles
| August 19, 2020

How to Ensure Your Internet is Ready for Back to School

Consumer

Autumn means back to school in the Northern Hemisphere, and this year many students’ classroom experience will be at least partially digital. This transition could place a major strain on network infrastructure both at schools and in homes, so we’ve gathered some information to help teachers, students and administrators stay virtually connected.

Internet speed matters

Video conference platforms like Zoom and Google Meet only work well when connected to adequately fast internet. Zoom suggests download and upload speeds of at least 3 Mbps for sending 1080p HD video. Google support documentation recommends having both upload and download speeds of at least 3.2 Mbps for group video meetings with multiple participants.

Take a Speedtest® to ensure that your download and upload speeds are at least 3 Mbps. If your connection is not delivering the speed you need, call your internet service provider.

speedtest-desktop800

More users = less speed

Every new user you add to an internet connection places additional strain on the connection, potentially slowing it down. This is true if you’re a school administrator trying to support multiple teachers streaming from one building. It’s also true if you’re a parent trying to set up multiple remote classrooms in addition to a remote office for yourself.

When measuring the speed of your connection, try connecting all the users to your network at the same time and have them use the network in the way they normally would to see what the throughput really is.

Make sure your modem is up to date

Older modems can be a bottleneck when it comes to internet speeds. In general, if your modem is more than three years old, it might be time for an upgrade. If you’re using a cable modem, you’ll want to look for one that supports DOCSIS 3.1. A DOCSIS 3.1 modem is able to bond multiple frequency channels, offering faster speeds and a more reliable connection. If your ISP supports the technology, you can get even faster speeds by upgrading to a DOCSIS 4.0 modem, but this is not yet universally available.

Replace your modem if it’s more than three years old. Look for DOCSIS 3.1 if you’re upgrading a cable modem.

Wi-Fi can add to your woes

Your router could be slowing you down

Choose a router that supports 802.11ax (802.11ac if you want to drop the price point a bit). You’ll need an up-to-date computer to get the most power out of 802.11ax, but 802.11 is generally backwards compatible. That means you should get improved service with a modern router. Over the years, improved router standards have included wider channel bandwidth (up to 160 MHz), denser constellation and additional spatial streams over previous versions that can keep your Wi-Fi router from becoming a bottleneck.

Look for a router that supports 802.11ax (or at least the most up-to-date standard that your computer can handle).

More antennas mean more speed

The number of transmitting and receiving antenna elements directly affects the ability to extract and process multiple spatial streams out of a single transmission.

Check the number of antennas on your router. More = better.

Wi-Fi extenders can be problematic

wifi-waves
As nice as it is to set up your classroom anywhere in the house or garden, Wi-Fi extenders are notorious for slowing down connections because everything you transmit over your network needs to be sent multiple times. If you cannot run enough wired connections for every user in your space, use traditional Wi-Fi extenders with caution.

Many of the challenges of bolting a Wi-Fi extender onto an existing network can be solved by replacing your existing Wi-Fi access point(s) with a mesh system. Place these devices around your home and they will automatically tune themselves to use the appropriate channels to ensure you are getting the best possible coverage. These mesh points generally use one channel to communicate back to the wired base station and an entirely different channel to communicate with your devices. This allows them to minimize potential interference, and automatically adjust coverage to best suit your needs.

Instead of using a traditional Wi-Fi extender, look to a Wi-Fi mesh system that can more intelligently select channels and route traffic.

Gigahertz matter

Many Wi-Fi setups let you choose between 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. 2.4 GHz is best for connecting with older devices and when you want the farthest range possible. 5 GHz offers faster speeds and less interference, but it requires your devices to be closer, or have line of sight, to the base station. To get a better connection, especially if you’re using 2.4 GHz, move away from cordless phones, microwaves, baby monitors, Bluetooth devices, and anything that could be broadcasting a signal.

Choose 5 GHz if you’re close to the wireless access point and need speed or are worried about interference. Choose 2.4 GHz for older computers or devices that are farther away from the access point.

Is the service even working?

Like taking a deep breath, make sure to check Downdetector before assuming that your personal setup has failed if a class blinks out. Many online services will be tested in ways never before considered as everyone heads back to school, and outages will likely happen. Possible points of failure include the video conference software and your internet service provider, so use the Downdetector homepage (on your phone if needed) to check what’s down — before you start turning everything off and on again.

Check Downdetector before you assume the error is on your end.

dd-screen-2

This year will be an adjustment as much as an adventure. We hope these tips can help you make the most of your virtual learning experience. For additional help with your remote setup, read this article.

Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.

Consumer
Improve Your Speeds

About the Author

Isla McKetta

Ookla Research™ Articles
| May 26, 2021

How to Choose the Best Provider For Your Needs: A Guide to Marketing Claims and Awards

Consumer

If you’re lucky, there are many, many mobile operators and internet service providers (ISPs) in your area who are clamoring for your business — courting you with ads that claim they are the fastest, best, most reliable, etc. Great! But how do you sort through that information to understand what you really need? This guide to marketing awards and claims should help you sort through some of the details so you can choose the mobile operator or internet service provider (ISP) that matches your needs.

Know that we at Ookla® are always looking carefully at our data to ensure that any claim using the Ookla or Speedtest® name is one you can rely on. For example, any provider that licenses a claim from Ookla must have at least 3% of the market share by sample count in a given location throughout the period — that’s to say that you should be able to actually access their services in the place described. A provider must also have a statistically significant lead over the competition to qualify to license a claim. And we don’t monkey with questionable timeframes. A provider either qualifies for the claim based on data from a full calendar quarter (or longer) or they don’t. For more information on individual metrics, read our methodology. Any claim that Ookla verifies is built on real-world consumer-initiated results and backed by rigorous data science. Look for your specific region, state or city to make sure you’re getting the provider that’s right for you.

What “Fastest Provider” really means

Many people look for the fastest service around — and why wouldn’t you? Having the fastest internet service can allow you to watch movies, livestream events or even play multiplayer games. Any provider named as having the Fastest Network by a Speedtest Award™ has been thoroughly vetted by our data science team using a combination of download and upload speeds that make up their Speed Score™. The top provider with the highest Speed Score who has provided service for the entire award period is then qualified to license the Fastest Award.

How customers inform “Top-Rated” mobile and fixed networks

How would you rate your internet provider? Would you recommend them to friends and family? We present Speedtest users with single-question surveys at the end of a test where they can give feedback on their mobile or fixed broadband provider. This data is used to inform “Top-Rated” Awards for the provider with the highest star rating in a specific location and time period.

Which mobile networks have the “Best Coverage”

If you’ve ever tried to get a call or text out only to find you have no service, you know mobile coverage matters. Every day Ookla receives hundreds of millions of coverage scans from Android Speedtest users around the world. This data is processed to assign a Coverage Score™ for each operator in a given location. The operator we stand behind as having the “Best Coverage” is your best bet for having access to service in the areas where people go most often.

Why “Best Availability” matters to mobile customers

Some people are most interested in making sure they always have access to a particular level of service. The “Best Availability” claim for mobile operators can help those consumers see the proportion of users who spend the majority of their time on a given cellular technology, both on network and when roaming. Availability claims are based on data from Android devices. Specific availability claims Ookla supports are:

  • Best 5G Availability describes the mobile provider with the highest percentage of users with 5G-capable devices who spend the majority of their time on 5G. Check the Ookla 5G Map™ to see if 5G is available in your area.
  • Best 4G Availability describes the mobile provider with the highest percentage of users who spend the majority of their time on 4G and above.
  • Best Network Availability describes the mobile provider with the highest percentage of users who spend the majority of their time connected to any cellular technology (i.e., 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G) rather than having no service. This is similar to Best Coverage, but focuses on the amount of time spent connected to a network rather than the distinct locations in which service is available.

How we determine which provider is “Most Consistent”

Consumers who prioritize consistent performance should look for a provider licensing the “Most Consistent” claim, which is based on our Consistency Score™. Consistency Score describes the percentage of a provider’s users who experienced download and upload speeds that met or exceeded our thresholds for the majority of their tests.

For mobile (all technologies), the threshold of consistent service is 5 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload. For mobile 5G and fixed broadband, the threshold is 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload. Achieving these speeds means you’re likely to be able to do things like stream HD and 4k video where and when you want to.

Best Availability + Most Consistent = “Most Reliable Mobile Network”

We all hope for the provider who is best at everything. Starting in July, Ookla’s “Most Reliable” claim can be used for mobile operators who have achieved both the best availability on a given technology and the best Consistency Score for that technology in the area described. The Most Reliable Network is one that should provide you with good performance and network availability. The Most Reliable 5G will represent the mobile operator with the best 5G Availability and best Consistency Score on 5G.

Fastest speeds + Best Coverage = “Best Mobile Network”

A fast internet speed with poor coverage leaves you hopping around trying to find that one spot you could stream from. Good coverage without fast speeds leaves you crossing your fingers that you can stream at all. The combination of speed and coverage is so important, in fact, that Ookla only allows a superlative claim of “Best Mobile Network” when a mobile provider has been confirmed to win the “Fastest Mobile Network” and “Best Mobile Coverage” awards.

A quick guide to choosing a provider

We hope the above information helps you choose the mobile operator or internet service provider that meets your needs. Here is a quick cheat sheet of the most common terms:

Cheat-Sheet-5

There are many factors that go into choosing a mobile operator or ISP. We hope this guide to claims and awards will help you find the provider that matches your needs. Once you have your new service in place, be sure to take a Speedtest to check if you’re getting the speeds you expect from your provider.

Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.

Consumer
Improve Your Speeds

About the Author

Jamie Seefurth

Ookla Research™ Articles
| May 2, 2022

Introducing Speedtest Maps™ for iOS

Consumer

You asked and we listened. Speedtest® fans who use Apple devices have long been requesting access to our Maps feature, and we are happy to report that this feature is now available for Android and iOS. So if you’ve been looking for a map of coverage that highlights which mobile providers have what level of service in the areas that matter most to you, open your Speedtest app today and check out the tab marked “Maps.”

How Speedtest Maps help you

Two Maps Side by Side

Speedtest Maps give you access to information about where you will and will likely not have access to different levels of service in a particular area. For example:

  • If you’re looking to use your brand new 5G phone on an upcoming vacation, you can check the map to see if your operator had 5G service in that location.
  • If you consistently find yourself dropping calls in the same spot on your daily walk, you can check our map to see if others who use the same provider are experiencing the same thing in the same area. Then you can take that information to your operator to ask them to improve service in that area.
  • If you’re looking to change operators, you can check to see who has the kind of service you need in the locations you visit most often.

Find and use your Speedtest Map today

If you already have Speedtest on your mobile device, you now have access to Speedtest Maps for both Android and iOS for free within our existing app. If you don’t see the Maps tab in the bottom right of your screen with the map open, simply update the app. And if you don’t have the Speedtest app, download it today for Android or iOS.

Explore maps for a variety of providers

Carrier Selection

Slide the bar up to select which provider you want to see detailed information for using the slider within the Map. You can use this to compare the service you’re subscribed to with that of other operators.

Access details on the best tech type available and the most common

Tech Type Selection

Use the bar at the top of the slider to choose whether you want to see the best available technology in an area or the most common. For example, there may be some 5G available in a certain area (Best) but LTE might be the “most common” tech type you’ll find there. The most common technology type layer in Speedtest Maps shows the technology type we saw at that location most frequently across all device types. This includes devices that are incapable of connecting to a 5G network (devices that support only 2G, 3G, and 4G LTE). If you are measuring whether 5G is available, use the “Best” layer.

Speedtest Maps are built using data from consumers who have opted in to location sharing in the Speedtest app. If you’d like to add valuable data to the maps and help to improve the feature, turn on location sharing in the settings of your device.

Our mission at Ookla is to empower consumers across the globe to understand and optimize their internet experience. Access to Speedtest Maps helps you find detailed information on coverage in the locations that matter most to you. Open the Speedtest app on your mobile device to check your map today or download Speedtest for Android or iOS.

Editor’s note: This article was updated on May 20 to clarify the uses of the “Best” and “Most Common” layers.

Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.

Consumer
Ookla News

About the Author

Ookla

Ookla Research™ Articles
| August 2, 2022

Find Out Which 50 Top European Vacation Destinations Have the Fastest Mobile Internet Speeds

Consumer

Vacation season is upon us with millions of tourists already flocking to Europe’s top summer destinations despite the heat. Whether you’re a European looking for the best “staycation” or an American taking advantage of the exchange rates, our analysis of mobile internet performance in 50 popular destinations across the continent should help you see how well you will be able to connect (or disconnect, should you so choose) on vacation this summer.

We divided these towns and cities into four categories that might appeal to different types of travelers: big cities, beach life, cultural havens, and forest getaways. Then we compared Speedtest Intelligence® data for median download speeds and multi-server latency across each category. Of course many of the best vacation destinations belong in multiple categories, so be sure to check each list to find your favorite locale, and you’ll want to remember that your experience may vary based on your carrier’s roaming agreement.

“Big cities” with internet performance as exciting as the lifestyle

Oslo, Norway topped our list of 15 European vacation destinations full of big city excitement with the fastest mobile internet with a median download speed of 156.99 Mbps during Q2 2022. Perfect if you’re planning to do live updates from the Øya Festival. Two other Nordic cities rounded out the top three with Stockholm, Sweden showing a median download speed of 136.74 Mbps and Copenhagen, Denmark coming in at 133.16 Mbps. With speeds like these you should be able to host as many “see how glorious my vacation is?” video calls as you want.

There was a large gap between these three cities and the next fastest group, led by Lisbon, Portugal at 86.49 Mbps. Istanbul, Turkey and Rome, Italy had the lowest median download speeds on this list. These are still adequate mobile speeds, especially if you want to lean into the vacation experience and report back on it later (if ever).

Nicosia, Cyprus had the lowest median multi-server latency on our “big city” list at 17 ms during Q2 2022. This metric measures how quickly your device gets a response after you’ve sent out a request during three stages so you can understand if you’ll run into unnecessary lags in your connection. We’ve previously reported how latency in Europe increased while roaming, and higher latency could mean that you encounter glitches in video calls or even have to shut down apps to get your phone to respond in a timely fashion. Rome had the highest latency on this list.

Where internet speeds are fit for “beach life”

Nothing says summer like relaxing on the beach. If your beach vacation needs fast internet access, surf the web in Biarritz, France and Korčula, Croatia. These two locales had the fastest median download speeds on our beach life list during Q2 2022 at 155.65 Mbps and 133.67 Mbps, respectively, though this is not a statistically significant difference. Varna, Bulgaria and Faro, Portugal rounded out the top four at 104.00 Mbps and 101.74 Mbps, respectively.

Amalfi, Italy and Cefalù, Italy are good beach destinations if you’re looking for encouragement to log off. With median download speeds of 31.40 Mbps and 38.18 Mbps, respectively, during Q2 2022, your internet connection should be adequate (though less inspiring than the Tyrrhenian Sea).

Piran, Slovenia had the lowest median multi-server latency (20 ms) on this list while Cefalù had the highest (56 ms).

“Cultural havens” with research-ready internet speeds

Travelers looking for maximum culture and fast internet speeds can do no better than Tromsø, Norway, which had a median download speed on mobile of 251.52 Mbps during Q2 2022, almost 2.3x faster than runner-up Amsterdam, Netherlands. Whether you’ve traveled to the northernmost bit of Norway for the wooden houses, one of the many summer festivals, or just to escape the heat, you’ll have fast enough internet to thoroughly research all the places you can go if you extend your vacation.

At the other end of the spectrum, if you’re traveling to Yerevan, Armenia or Florence, Italy to enjoy the museums and other cultural highlights of either, you might want to take pictures instead. With median download speeds of 24.11 Mbps and 29.84 Mbps, respectively, these cities were the slowest on this list. All the more reason to immerse yourself in the sights and wait to connect to Wi-Fi before uploading your photos.

Helsingør, Denmark had the lowest median multi-server latency, while Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom had the highest. High latency can impede the performance of your phone even when you’re in an area with great speeds — something to keep in mind if you’re relying on your phone to locate the next Fringe venue.

Navigate internet speeds in “forest getaways”

Some people swear by the forest for the best vacations, especially in the heat of summer. The Alpine cities of Innsbruck, Austria and Digne-les-Bains, France had the fastest median download speeds over mobile on our list of forest getaways during Q2 2022 at 87.34 Mbps and 67.30 Mbps, respectively, though there was no statistical winner between the two. There was also no statistically significant difference between the median download speeds in Zakopane, Poland (43.52 Mbps); Killarney, Ireland (35.90 Mbps); and Sighișoara, Romania (30.48 Mbps). While you may prefer to be offline in the woods, having a strong and fast internet connection available can help you navigate with GPS, check out the names of all the flora you’re encountering, or reach help in case of emergency.

Sighișoara and Killarney had the lowest median multi-server latency on this list at 24 ms and 25 ms, respectively. Digne had the highest latency at 36 ms.

Regardless of where you travel, mobile internet performance will affect your trip. We hope this list prepares you for the getaway you want. If we missed your favorite European vacation destination, take a Speedtest® on Android or iOS to show off your speeds and tweet us your suggestions for next year’s list or share your ideas via this Google form.

Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.

Consumer

About the Author

Isla McKetta

Ookla Research™ Articles
| September 15, 2022

College Towns Where Internet Speeds Make the Grade (And Where They Fail)

Consumer

It’s back to school time in the United States, and for many freshmen that means traveling to a brand new town to start your education. To help you know if the internet will be a help or a hindrance as you earn your degree, we analyzed internet performance in 100 college towns across the U.S. This list includes Speedtest Intelligence® data on median download and upload speeds from 100 towns with a large percentage of students where college is a major part of the industry.

While we worked to include a wide variety of college towns on our list, the list is far from comprehensive. If you’d like to see your school on the list next year, please take a Speedtest® then send your result to us via Twitter or Facebook. You can also start your college life on a responsible note by using our new Speedtest Performance Directory™ to check out expected speeds for internet service providers before you sign up for an extended contract.

College towns with the best (and worst) internet speeds

If you started your college search by looking for the top of the top, you’ll relate to the next three sections that highlight the college towns with the fastest speeds on 5G, all mobile technologies combined, and fixed broadband. By choosing a school in a town with great internet speeds, you’re giving yourself access to the fastest streaming and gaming experiences (and good performance for any online classes to boot). We’ve also included the locations with the slowest speeds. While you’ll see college towns broken out by population later in this article, these three sections combined data from all 100 schools on our list.

College towns with A+ and F- 5G speeds

Map of best and worst college towns for 5G speeds

With median download speeds over 300 Mbps, Manhattan, Kansas; Clemson, South Carolina; and College Park, Maryland topped our list of college towns with the fastest 5G in the U.S. during Q2 2022. Auburn, Alabama and Troy, New York rounded out the top five. Students in these places have every advantage when using 5G phones for school or play.

On the other end of the spectrum, Bowling Green, Kentucky; Fayetteville, Arkansas; Blacksburg, Virginia; Cheney, Washington; and Morgantown, West Virginia had the slowest download speeds over 5G. Students in these locations may want to consider if 5G is even worth the extra investment. Check the lists below to see how 5G performance compares to mobile performance on all technologies. It’s likely that the 5G performance will get better with time, but there’s no need to stretch your budget for a service that isn’t delivering in your area.

Overall mobile performance in college towns is sufficient

Map of best and worst college towns for mobile speeds

Tigers rejoice, because Clemson, South Carolina was among the fastest college towns for mobile on our list with a median download speed of 175.77 Mbps during Q2 2022. Tempe, Arizona; Kent, Ohio; College Park, Maryland; and Providence, Rhode Island filled out the top five. These towns all have excellent download speeds, far ahead of the 59.89 Mbps median mobile download speed in the U.S. during July 2022, according to the Speedtest Global Index™. In all, 52 of the college towns on our list showed a median download speed above this during Q2 2022.

Bennington, Vermont; Socorro, New Mexico; Kearney, Nebraska; Bowling Green, Kentucky; and Hanover, New Hampshire had the slowest download speeds on our list. While the download speeds in these places should be adequate for most phone uses, you probably won’t want to rely on tethering your mobile device to your computer for internet access.

Most college towns have acceptable fixed broadband speeds

Map of best and worst college towns for fixed broadband speeds

Grambling, Louisiana topped our list of college towns with a median download speed over fixed broadband of 333.65 Mbps during Q2 2022. Home to the HBCU Grambling State University, Grambling is a small town in north central Louisiana, and Grambling was 14% faster than Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the next fastest college town. Dover, Delaware; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and Manchester, New Hampshire completed our list of top five fastest college towns for fixed broadband. Forty-seven out of the 100 college towns on our list had a Q2 2022 median download speed over fixed broadband that was faster than the median for the U.S. (159.31 Mbps) in July 2022, according to the Speedtest Global Index.

The slowest college towns on our list were Socorro, New Mexico; Cheney, Washington; Oberlin, Ohio; Tuskegee, Alabama; and Brookings, South Dakota. While the download speed in all but Socorro is within the acceptable range for most uses, anyone connecting more than one device at a time to a router (hello roommates!) is going to struggle with internet performance in these places.

Internet performance in large college towns

Everyone has a different college dream. Our “large college towns” list is for students who want more of a city experience than a town, with 19 locations that have 100,000 or more residents but still retain that college town feel. If your favorite college town is actually a suburb of a larger metropolitan area, look for that list below.

Chart of internet performance in large college towns in the U.S.

Manchester, New Hampshire; Huntsville, Alabama; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Providence, Rhode Island form the top of the list for large college towns with fast median download speeds over fixed broadband during Q2 2022. All four are home to multiple colleges and universities whose students can benefit from these super fast speeds. Even Columbia, Missouri, the place with the lowest median download speed on this list, exceeds the FCC minimum recommendation for broadband of 25 Mbps download. However, 10 of the cities on this list had lower speeds than the U.S. median of 159.31 Mbps in July 2022.

On mobile, Tempe, Arizona and Providence, Rhode Island had the fastest median download speeds among our large college towns list during Q2 2022. In all, eight of the colleges on this list had a median download speed over mobile during Q2 2022 that exceeded the U.S. median of 59.89 Mbps during July 2022. College Station, Texas; Fayetteville, Arkansas; Lincoln, Nebraska; Macon, Georgia; and Columbia, Missouri had the lowest mobile speeds on our list of large college towns, each coming in below 50 Mbps for median download speed.

Medium-sized college towns with fast internet speeds

Chart of internet performance in medium-sized college towns in the U.S.

College students looking for a slightly slower lifestyle might enjoy our medium-sized college town list. This list includes 26 locations where college is a major industry, there are 50,000-100,000 residents, and the city is not part of another metropolitan area.

Dover, Delaware; Jonesboro, Arkansas; and Rock Hill, South Carolina top the list of medium-sized college towns with fast fixed broadband speeds during Q2 2022. Eleven of the 26 places on this list exceeded the median download speed for fixed broadband in the U.S. (159.31 Mbps) during July 2022. Conway, Arkansas; Grand Forks, North Dakota; and Lawrence, Kansas had the slowest median download speeds over fixed broadband on this list during Q2 2022. While all three cities showed faster speeds than the FCC recommendation of 25 Mbps, students looking to use more than one device at a time (or to share an internet connection) may soon find the limits of these speeds.

Dover, Delaware led for mobile download speed on our list of medium-sized college towns during Q2 2022. Only nine of 26 places showed a faster median download speed over mobile during Q2 2022 than the U.S. median of 59.89 Mbps in July 2022. Bowling Green, Kentucky and Bozeman, Montana had the slowest median download speeds over mobile on this list. The speeds in these two places are still sufficient for ordinary use, but students will likely want to rely on fixed broadband for activities that require better performance (like opening 100 tabs to research a paper).

Small college towns with big internet performance

Chart of internet performance in small college towns in the U.S.

If you’ve always dreamed of living in a small town where the entire community seems to revolve around college life, our list of 29 small college towns might be where your heart lies. This list includes places with fewer than 50,000 residents where the college makes up a large part of the economy and the towns aren’t counted as part of a larger metropolitan area.

The Tigers led for fixed broadband and mobile speeds with Grambling, Louisiana (home of Grambling State University) easily topping the list of small college towns with fast fixed broadband (with a median download speed of 333.65 Mbps during Q2 2022). On the mobile side, Clemson, South Carolina (home of Clemson University) eclipsed the competition for download speed with a median of 175.77 Mbps.

Only eight of the 29 small college towns on our list bested the 159.31 Mbps median download speed for fixed broadband in the U.S. during July 2022. For mobile, 11 small college towns exceeded the 59.89 Mbps median download speed for the U.S.

Socorro, New Mexico had the slowest median download speed over fixed broadband by far, well under the FCC suggested 25 Mbps, and Socorro also placed among the slowest for mobile download speed. Looking at mobile, Bennington, Vermont had the lowest median download speed among small college towns. Students with mobile speeds this slow may need to lean heavily on their fixed broadband for both study and play.

Suburban college towns benefit from big city internet infrastructure

Chart of internet performance in suburban college towns in the U.S.

Sometimes you want a college town experience with easy access to the amenities of a big city. That’s where our list of suburban college towns comes in; large or small, each of the 26 places on this list is college-driven but is also close enough to (or part of) a major metropolitan area.

Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and New Brunswick, New Jersey had the fastest median download speeds on fixed broadband among our list of suburban college towns during Q2 2022. Kent, Ohio; College Park, Maryland; Troy, New York; and Waukesha, Wisconsin topped our list of mobile speeds in suburban college towns, each coming in with a median download speed above 100 Mbps during Q2 2022.

Proximity to the big city pays off for most of these locations with 16 of 26 suburban college towns showing a Q2 2022 median download speed faster than the 159.31 Mbps median for the U.S. during July 2022. The big city infrastructure effect was even more evident for mobile with 24 of 26 suburban college towns beating the 59.89 Mbps U.S. median for mobile speeds during July 2022.

Oberlin, Ohio had the slowest download speed by far of the suburban college towns we analyzed. While the 56.76 Mbps median speed beats the FCC broadband threshold of 25 Mbps, two or more devices trying to use a connection at that speed could struggle with mission critical activities like video calls home to the parents or the ex you left behind. Oberlin also placed at the bottom for mobile speeds along with Madison, New Jersey, the only two suburban college towns not to exceed the U.S. median.

We were pleased, for the most part, with the internet and mobile speeds we saw in U.S. college towns. There are a lot of options for schools in towns with fast connections and a couple where you could fall off the grid (should you so choose). Did we leave your college town off our list or are you seeing a radically different result in your college town? Take a Speedtest® on Android or iOS and tweet us your feedback. You can also check month-by-month performance for your town and compare expected speeds for internet providers in our new Speedtest Performance Directory.

Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.

Consumer

About the Author

Isla McKetta