Tag: Norway

Ookla Research™ Articles
| November 30, 2022

Starlink Speeds Dipped Slightly During Q3 2022 as the Space Race Heats up

Network Evolution

Ookla® has exciting, fresh data from Q3 2022 for SpaceX’s Starlink, HughesNet, and Viasat in North and South America, as well as new Starlink markets we haven’t yet featured in our ongoing series on satellite internet. With accelerating competition on the horizon for 2023, we’ve been eager to see how Starlink continues to perform, especially as building new fiber connections continues to be costly around the world. 

This analysis includes results from five additional countries, two new providers, and expanded data for Starlink, HughesNet, and Viasat. We also examine how Starlink’s internet performance has changed over the past year in Canada, Chile, and the United States.

Starlink performance dipped once again during Q3 2022 (though only slightly)

Chart of Starlink perfromance in select North and South American countries

Perhaps a victim of their own success, Starlink download speeds dropped once again in Canada (at least 14%) and the U.S. (at least 17%) from Q2 to Q3 2022, while speeds remained roughly the same in Chile quarter over quarter. During the same period, fixed broadband performance raced ahead, improving at least 8% to 115.18 Mbps in Canada, at least 4% to 207.04 Mbps in Chile, and at least 8% to 164.13 Mbps in the U.S. 

Over the past year, as we’ve seen more users flock to sign up for Starlink (reaching 400,000 users worldwide during Q2 2022), speeds have started to decrease. Without a doubt, Starlink often can be a life-changing service for consumers where connectivity is inadequate or nonexistent. Even as speeds slow, they still provide more than enough connectivity to do almost everything consumers normally need to do, including streaming 4K video and video messaging. The biggest thing you might have issues with is if you’re trying to play multiplayer online games — even being a low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite, latency still lags far behind low-latency fixed broadband connections.

Starlink upload speeds remained roughly unchanged in all three countries we surveyed during Q3 2022, improving marginally in Canada and Chile, and essentially staying the same in the U.S. 

Starlink remains a boon for rural U.S. consumers who can afford it

Map of Starlink expansion in U.S. counties

Over the past year, Starlink has proliferated across the U.S., going from having at least 10 unique users in 776 U.S. counties, or roughly 25% of all counties during Q2-Q3 2021 to 2,399 counties in Q2-Q3 2022, or roughly 75% of counties. That marks about a 200% increase year over year, indicating consumer confidence in the provider. 

Looking at only “nonmetro” counties as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, 336 counties showed at least 10 Starlink users in Q2-Q3 2021. That was about 17% of all nonmetro counties. In Q2-Q3 2022, that rose to 1359 counties, or about 69% of nonmetro counties, marking about a 300% increase year over year. 

Starlink in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands had the fastest satellite internet in North America

Chart of satellite performance compared to fixed broadband internet in North America

Speedtest Intelligence® reveals that Starlink in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands had the fastest median download speed among satellite providers in North America at 85.88 Mbps and 85.57 Mbps during Q3 2022. Starlink in the Dominican Republic (72.01 Mbps), Canada (65.80 Mbps), Mexico (64.30 Mbps), and the U.S. (53.00 Mbps) followed. Starlink had faster median download speeds than all fixed broadband providers combined in all of these countries except Canada and the U.S., and Viasat outperformed fixed broadband in the Dominican Republic (22.92 Mbps). 

Viasat and HughesNet recorded their fastest median download speeds in Puerto Rico at 36.65 Mbps and 22.19 Mbps, respectively. Almost every satellite provider on our list reached speeds fast enough to stream high-quality video at around 20 Mbps, though latency still was much higher than fixed broadband internet.

For upload speeds, Starlink outperformed fixed broadband providers combined in the Dominican Republic (14.68 Mbps to 5.83 Mbps) and the U.S. Virgin Islands (12.59 Mbps to 8.37 Mbps). Fixed broadband providers in Canada had the fastest upload on our list at 29.29 Mbps.

Multi-server latency showed satellite internet’s limits, with the huge distances between satellite and receivers adding up to long lags — and every satellite provider with higher latencies than fixed broadband providers. However, the Dominican Republic and U.S. Virgin Islands still had higher fixed broadband multi-server latencies at 55.45 ms and 76.15 ms, respectively. Starlink in the U.S. had the lowest multi-server latency at 67.16 ms, followed by Canada (77.32 ms), and Mexico (96.42 ms), which were the only satellite options that had a multi-server latency under 100 ms.

Starlink in Brazil was the fastest satellite provider in South America

Chart of satellite performance compared to fixed broadband internet in South America

Brazilian satellite consumers weren’t lacking for fast internet options during Q3 2022, with Starlink blazing ahead among satellite providers in South America at 112.97 Mbps. Even Viasat notched a respectable median download speed of 45.15 Mbps. Starlink in Brazil was also the only satellite provider to outperform its country’s fixed broadband speeds, with ultrafast fixed broadband in Chile pulling ahead of Starlink 207.04 Mbps to 92.58 Mbps. Colombia was statistically too close to call in Q3 2022 with Starlink at 71.42 Mbps and fixed broadband at 83.76 Mbps. HughesNet trailed far behind with its fastest speed in Chile at 22.62 Mbps during Q3 2022.

For upload speeds, fixed broadband providers in every country we surveyed were faster than their satellite counterparts during Q3 2022. Starlink in Colombia had the fastest upload speed among satellite providers at 24.48 Mbps.

Speedtest Intelligence reveals multi-server latency told a similar story, with every country’s fixed broadband providers having a lower multi-server latency than their satellite counterparts. However, Starlink in Brazil and Chile had the lowest satellite multi-server latencies at 52.21 ms and 52.32 ms, respectively, during Q3 2022. Viasat and HughesNet lowest latencies were far behind with Viasat in Brazil at 670.63 ms and HughesNet in Chile at 713.04 ms.

New Q3 2022 Starlink countries have mixed results

Chart of satellite performance compared to fixed broadband internet in select countries

Speedtest Intelligence data shows Starlink data in six new countries during Q3 2022, including Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Estonia, Moldova, Norway, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Starlink in Estonia (93.48 Mbps), the U.S. Virgin Islands (85.57 Mbps), and the Dominican Republic (72.01 Mbps) were much faster options than fixed broadband providers in their respective countries during Q3 2022. Starlink in Norway (113.86 Mbps) and Colombia (71.42 Mbps) were statistically in the same range as fixed broadband providers in their respective countries during the same time period. Starlink in Moldova (53.11 Mbps) was much slower than all fixed broadband providers combined (105.65 Mbps), though for rural folks with fewer options, still provides a speedy connection.

In all six countries, Starlink underperformed all fixed broadband providers combined for upload speed during Q3 2022, lagging behind from 12.59 Mbps to 24.48 Mbps, while median fixed broadband upload speeds ranged from 30.66 Mbps to 93.80 Mbps.

Multi-server latency was generally much higher than fixed broadband, with Starlink in Colombia showing the lowest multi-server latency at 58.65 ms, followed by Norway (73.00 ms), Estonia (85.37 ms), Moldova (105.26 ms), the Dominican Republic (110.62 ms), and the U.S. Virgin Islands (113.12 ms). 

The great space race is on

There is no doubt a new space race for connectivity is being waged across the world. Competitors are pouring hundreds of millions and even billions into unlocking the celestial connectivity dilemma. Here are some major updates about what’s next for various different satellite competitors:

With the competition for satellite connectivity heating up and Starlink facing potentially more competition in the coming months, we’ll be keeping our eyes to the sky to see how connectivity is performing. We’ll continue our series next quarter with Q3-Q4 2022 data from Europe and Oceania and any new countries where Starlink launches, and be back with North and South America data in Q2 2023. In the meantime, be sure to download the Speedtest app for Windows and Mac computers or for iOS or Android for devices and see how your satellite internet stacks up to our findings.

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.

Network Evolution
Satellite
U.S. Virgin Islands

About the Author

Josh Fomon

Ookla Research™ Articles
| December 13, 2024

Performance Benchmarking of Mobile Operators in Small to Mid-Sized Markets

As mobile connectivity demand grows, particularly in urban areas, network performance has become a crucial indicator of a country’s development, competitiveness, and quality of life. This report focuses on the performance of mobile networks in small to mid-sized markets, which strike a balance between fostering competition and allowing operators to concentrate on urban connectivity. Based on the selected criteria, the top-performing operators identified in this analysis come from nine countries: Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Kuwait, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, and the U.A.E.

Key Takeaways

  • Operators from the U.A.E. and Kuwait dominate the top five positions. Speedtest Intelligence® 1H 2024 data showed that U.A.E.’s e& led with a median download speed of 351.73 Mbps, followed by du at 264.41 Mbps. Kuwait’s Ooredoo (234.45 Mbps), Zain (218.06 Mbps), and stc (190.42 Mbps) rounded out the top five.
  • Early 5G adoption has been a key factor in driving improved network performance, with operators like e& (U.A.E.), du (U.A.E.), Ooredoo (Kuwait), and Zain (Kuwait) achieving globally competitive median download speeds since launching 5G in 2019. Speedtest Intelligence data highlights consistent growth in 5G Availability and 5G Service metrics over the past two years. For instance, Ooredoo (Kuwait) increased 5G Availability from 67.0% to 73.7% and 5G Service from 78.3% to 83.9%, while Telenor Norway improved 5G Availability from 40.4% to 55.9%, and YouSee (Denmark) reached 84.0%, showcasing the significant impact of 5G expansion on network performance.
  • The top-performing operators predominantly came from a select group of highly urbanized and economically developed countries. Only nine countries accounted for the top 20 mobile operators in small to mid-size markets. Notably, all operators in the top ten were from countries with urbanization rates exceeding 87%, highlighting the correlation between high urban density and network performance.

Understanding mobile performance in advanced small to mid-size markets

Mobile network performance is shaped by multiple factors, each impacting speed, reliability, and user experience. Spectrum availability, infrastructure density, and advanced technologies like 5G are essential for meeting user demand effectively. Additionally, geographic, economic, and regulatory factors influence the level of investment and an operator’s ability to deploy and optimize services. Large markets spanning vast regions pose unique logistical and technical challenges for operators trying to serve both densely populated cities and remote rural areas. In contrast, operators in smaller markets, such as city-states, focus on compact urban areas, requiring a more targeted and agile approach to network deployment.

For the purpose of this analysis, we defined small-to-mid sized markets as having populations between 4 million and 10 million.  The majority of the population is concentrated in high-density areas, allowing for a clearer examination of urban network strategies without the intricate infrastructure needs of large rural areas. There are 35 markets globally that fit this criteria, and of these, more than 65% occupy land areas smaller than 200,000 km². Using Speedtest Intelligence data, we examined the mobile performance in these markets during the first half of 2024, highlighting the top 20 ranked mobile providers based on median download speed.

Operators from the U.A.E. and Kuwait dominate the top ten rankings

Using Speedtest Intelligence® data collected in the first half of 2024, we ranked the top ten mobile operators in small to mid-size markets based on all mobile technologies combined. Operators from the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait dominate the top five positions, with a few operators from Denmark, Norway, and Singapore also making it into the top ten list. Notably, all operators in the top ten were from highly urbanized countries, with an urbanization rate exceeding 87%. These markets were also economically developed, having an average GDP per capita of just under USD 60,000.

Top 10 Ranked Operators Performance, Small to Medium Markets
Source: Speedtest Intelligence® | 1H 2024

U.A.E.’s e& (U.A.E) leads by a significant margin, achieving a median download speed of 351.73 Mbps for all technologies combined. This lead is indicative of the e&’s strong investment in telecommunication infrastructure and advanced network capabilities. Following e& is du, which has a median download speed of 264.41 Mbps. Both e& and du reported similar median upload speeds, with 26.58 Mbps and 26.25 Mbps respectively. The results underscore the U.A.E.’s robust telecommunications landscape, driven by strong competition among the leading operators.

Kuwait’s Ooredoo and Zain rank third and fourth with median download speeds of 234.45 Mbps and 218.06 Mbps, respectively. Another Kuwaiti operator, stc, completes the top five with a speed of 190.42 Mbps. The presence of three Kuwaiti operators in the top five highlights the country’s substantial progress in mobile network development, driven by a concentrated urban population and high levels of mobile broadband penetration. 

The dominance of operators from the Middle East, particularly the U.A.E. and Kuwait, in overall network performance highlights the significant investments and advancements in 5G infrastructure within the region. Our previous report examined how the U.A.E. was the fastest 5G market globally in 1H 2024, with a median download speed of 660.08 Mbps, with e& UAE leading both domestically and globally at 749.63 Mbps. In Kuwait, Zain topped 5G median download speed in the market with a speed of 411.06 Mbps, surpassing Ooredoo at 379.04 Mbps during the same period. These achievements underscore the region’s strategic focus on enhancing connectivity and setting benchmarks for global 5G performance. 

Northern Europe also has strong representation in the top ten, with Telenor (Norway) achieving 174.34 Mbps and three Danish operators (3, Telia, and YouSee) rounding out the list, all offering speeds above 148 Mbps. Singtel of Singapore is positioned in eighth place at 159.22 Mbps, indicative of Singapore’s efficient, urban-focused mobile deployment.

European operators were the most prominent beyond the top ten

11-20 Ranked Operators Performance, Small to Medium Markets
Source: Speedtest Intelligence® | 1H 2024

The next tier of mobile operators, ranked 11 to 20 by median download speed, offers a broader view of competitive performance across smaller European and Asian markets. Leading this group is A1 of Bulgaria, with a median download speed of 140.56 Mbps, placing it just below the top 10. Close behind Telenor (Denmark) and Telia (Norway), at 135.83 Mbps and 134.53 Mbps, respectively, highlight Northern Europe’s strong network performance capabilities, where dense urban populations and advanced network deployment have created solid foundations for high-speed connectivity.

Finnish operators make up a substantial part of this ranking, with DNA at 120.72 Mbps, Telia at 103.51 Mbps, and Elisa at 93.50 Mbps. The inclusion of the three Finnish operators in the list is notable, given the complex mix of population distribution and challenging coverage requirements of the market, which make consistently high speeds difficult across various geographies.

Other European operators, such as Swisscom in Switzerland, which had a speed of 117.29 Mbps, and Yettel in Hungary, with 94.58 Mbps, demonstrated that smaller, urbanized markets could still maintain competitive internet speeds. Singapore’s StarHub, with a speed of 100.46 Mbps, ranked 18th, highlighting the country’s strong mobile infrastructure.

Proactive 5G strategies contributing to overall performance gains among top operators

The majority of the operators in the top 20 list were early adopters of 5G technology, with most launching 5G services as early as 2019 or 2020. This early adoption has proven to be a factor in enhancing their overall network performance, allowing them to deliver faster speeds, greater reliability, and a better overall user experience compared to markets that lagged in 5G rollout.

Timeline of 5G Launch Among Top Operators in Small to Medium Markets

Operators such as e& (U.A.E.), du (U.A.E.), Ooredoo (Kuwait), and Zain (Kuwait) launched 5G services in 2019 and have consistently achieved higher median download speeds compared to other operators globally. In May 2019, etisalat by e& became the first operator in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to introduce 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) technology to subscribers. The U.A.E. and Kuwait have regularly ranked as the fastest operators in Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index, alongside other early 5G adopters like Qatar and South Korea.

Government support and operator investments have played a crucial role in driving 5G success in these markets. In the U.A.E., the telecom regulator TDRA waived fees for 5G frequencies above 3 GHz for five years, giving operators access to extensive spectrum resources in the 2500-2600 MHz and 3300-3800 MHz ranges. Similarly, Kuwait’s CITRA allocated additional spectrum in the 2.3 GHz and 2.6 GHz bands, enabling operators to enhance their 5G networks and prepare for the rollout of 5G-Advanced technology.

European operators, including Telenor (Norway), 3 (Denmark), and A1 (Bulgaria), as well as Singtel and StarHub in Singapore, have also leveraged early 5G implementation to enhance service quality. GSMA’s 5G Connectivity Index highlights that markets with proactive 5G strategies tend to outperform in network performance metrics. 

Leading operators demonstrate ongoing 5G adoption and coverage expansion

The overall performance gains are closely linked to the increased adoption of 5G services and the expansion of 5G coverage in key markets. As more users spend a larger share of their time on 5G networks, reliance on older technologies like 4G has steadily declined. This transition has contributed to faster speeds, lower latency, and overall improvements in mobile network performance for users across these top-performing operators.

5G Availability (%) Quarterly Trend
Source: Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2023 – Q3 2024

5G Service (%) Quarterly Trend
Source: Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2023 – Q3 2024

Top operators have continued to expand their 5G networks across their respective markets. Over the past 24 months, quarterly data has shown a consistent upward trend in both 5G Availability—the percentage of time users with 5G-capable devices spend connected to 5G—and 5G Service, which measures the percentage of geographical areas with reported 5G coverage. This dual growth demonstrates the operators’ commitment to improving both user experience and network reach.

e& (U.A.E.) and du (U.A.E.) have shown steady increases in 5G Availability. e& rose from 13.9% in Q2 2023 to 25.6% in Q3 2024, while du increased from 16.5% to 20.9% over the same period. 5G Service also improved, with e& expanding from 41.5% in Q2 2023 to 52.9% in Q3 2024, and du growing from 56.4% to 67.2%. 

Kuwaiti operators Ooredoo, Zain, and stc consistently maintained high levels of 5G Availability. Ooredoo increased from 67.0% in Q2 2023 to 73.7% in Q3 2024, while 5G Service also saw growth, with Ooredoo rising from 78.3% to 83.9% and Zain expanding from 81.1% to 90.6% during the same period. 

European operators also showed notable progress. Telenor Norway achieved significant growth in 5G Availability, rising from 40.4% to 55.9%. Denmark’s YouSee maintained one of the highest levels, increasing from 72.8% to 84.0%. In Finland, DNA and Telia demonstrated consistent improvements, with DNA rising from 52.6% to 71.6% and Telia making steady advancements as well. These trends reflect the continued expansion of 5G in both urban and outskirts, supporting increased 5G connectivity  across these markets.

Majority of the top operators’ 5G networks are utilizing C-band spectrum

Spectrum availability plays an important part in network performance, impacting speed and coverage. In urbanized small to mid-size markets, operators must strategically manage and, where possible, the ability to access adequate spectrum resources is crucial for reducing network congestion and maintaining a consistent, high-quality experience for users.

We analyzed the distribution of Speedtest data samples based on the primary reported 5G spectrum bands used by the top ten performing operators to gain insights into the spectrum bands utilized by operators. It’s important to note that operators will employ differing strategies to optimize spectrum utilization and the user experience. Consumer-initiated tests will attempt to saturate a network connection, and operators will tend to serve this capacity demand through the spectrum bands with the highest capacity and, where required, supplement this capacity through carrier aggregation. This gives a better indication of the maximum throughput and state of the network, in contrast with background idle-state testing, which will often camp on lower frequency bands and, more specifically, on 4G-LTE.

The results show that upper mid-band spectrum, or  C-Band (3.3-4.2 GHz), is the most widely utilized spectrum band among these operators, playing a critical role in balancing performance, availability, and coverage. The C-band offers an optimal balance between speed and coverage, making it suitable for urban and broader coverage areas.

Operators like e& (U.A.E.) and du (U.A.E.) rely heavily on the C-band, with 93.5% and 78.9% of test samples reported in this range, respectively. Similarly, operators in Kuwait, including Ooredoo, Zain, and stc, show a near-exclusive reliance on the C-band (ranging from 89.1% to 99.9%), enabling them to deliver widespread 5G availability and improved median download speeds.

In Nordic markets, operators like Telenor Norway and YouSee Denmark demonstrate more diverse spectrum strategies. Telenor Norway combines significant use of the C-band (62.4%) with a notable portion of low-band spectrum (37.4%), which enhances coverage in rural and less densely populated areas. This mixed approach allows these operators to ensure nationwide 5G rollout while maintaining urban performance. 

Top performing operators came from a few highly urbanized countries.

Our data shows that operators from only nine countries made up the top 20 mobile operators with the best median download speed within small to mid-size markets. Denmark had the highest representation, contributing four operators to the top 20 list. Kuwait and Finland follow closely, each with three operators ranked among the best. Other countries with top-performing operators include the U.A.E., Singapore, Norway, Bulgaria, Switzerland, and Hungary, each featuring one or two operators.

Top 20 Operators Countries
Source: Speedtest Intelligence® | 1H 2024, World Population Review | 2023

These markets share several common characteristics that likely contribute to their high mobile network performance. Most are highly urbanized and economically developed, which facilitates the deployment of advanced telecommunications infrastructure.  Additionally, these countries often have high levels of investment in digital connectivity, enabling operators to maintain robust, high-speed networks. Many of these markets, such as Singapore, Switzerland, and Norway, are relatively compact, allowing operators to concentrate network resources and deliver consistent performance across their territories.

In contrast, markets with lower urbanization levels, such as Austria (59.5% urbanization) and Ireland (64.5% urbanization), despite sharing similar characteristics with the high-performing markets—such as strong economies and investments in telecommunications infrastructure—reported lower median download speeds of 79.46 Mbps and 38.20 Mbps, respectively. This highlights the need for tailored strategies in less urbanized markets to enhance coverage and optimize performance.

Ookla will continue to monitor overall mobile performance and 5G deployments globally and benchmark countries and operators. For more information about Speedtest Intelligence data and insights, please get in touch.

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.

About the Author

Affandy Johan

Ookla Research™ Articles
| July 27, 2021

Oslo Tops the List of World Capitals with the Fastest 5G in Q1-Q2 2021

Global Speeds

Mobile operators are rapidly expanding 5G deployments across the globe, with 16,410 new 5G deployments across 109 countries added to the Ookla 5G Map™ in June 2021 alone. Huge investments in 5G are being made to increase performance, especially in major cities. We used Speedtest Intelligence® to see which world capitals have the best 5G speeds and availability, based on locations with commercially available 5G during Q1-Q2 2021.

Oslo, Norway was the fastest world capital for 5G during Q1-Q2 2021

ookla_fastest_5g_download_speed_world_capitals_0721

The race for fastest 5G performance among world capitals was extremely competitive during Q1-Q2 2021. Oslo, Norway had the fastest 5G of any world capital, clocking in with a median download speed of 526.74 Mbps. Seoul, South Korea had the second fastest median download speed over 5G at 467.84 Mbps; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates was third (421.26 Mbps); Doha, Qatar fourth (413.40 Mbps) and Stockholm, Sweden fifth (401.30 Mbps). Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (384.66 Mbps); Kuwait City, Kuwait (338.97 Mbps), Muscat, Oman (318.95 Mbps); Beijing, China (291.19 Mbps); and Taipei, Taiwan (287.86 Mbps); rounded out the top 10. Helsinki, Finland showed a median 5G download speed of 279.59 Mbps; Sofia, Bulgaria 260.55 Mbps; Canberra, Australia 258.39 Mbps; Bangkok, Thailand 253.73 Mbps; Manama, Bahrain 249.71; Dublin, Ireland 223.01; Luxembourg City, Luxembourg 209.98 Mbps; Paris, France 208.48 Mbps and Bucharest, Romania 203.44 Mbps.

We saw median 5G download speeds between 150 Mbps and 200 Mbps in the following world capitals during Q1-Q2 2021: Ottawa, Canada (196.11 Mbps); Hanoi, Vietnam (195.99 Mbps); Bratislava, Slovakia (188.23 Mbps); Madrid, Spain (183.37 Mbps); Bern, Switzerland (175.69 Mbps); Rome, Italy (171.79 Mbps); London, United Kingdom (167.50 Mbps); Tokyo, Japan (167.02 Mbps); Athens, Greece (164.95 Mbps); Copenhagen, Denmark (162.75 Mbps); Ljubljana, Slovenia (158.50 Mbps); Hong Kong (153.78) and Washington, D.C., United States (151.80 Mbps).

Cape Town, South Africa was the slowest world capital for 5G in Q1-Q2 2021

ookla_slowest_5g_download_speed_world_capitals_0721

Speedtest Intelligence shows Capetown, South Africa had the slowest median download speed over 5G during Q1-Q2 2021 at 53.33 Mbps. Other world capitals with slower median 5G download speeds included: Brasilia, Brazil (62.18 Mbps); San Juan, Puerto Rico (72.59 Mbps); Warsaw, Poland (80.18 Mbps); Singapore (111.20 Mbps); Manila, Philippines (112.23 Mbps); Prague, Czechia (116.30 Mbps); Budapest, Hungary (137.54 Mbps); Amsterdam, Netherlands (139.75 Mbps); Zagreb, Croatia (140.92 Mbps); Vienna, Austria (144.93 Mbps); Jerusalem, Israel (145.17 Mbps); and Berlin, Germany (148.16 Mbps).

Capitals not mentioned on either of these lists did not have sufficient 5G samples during Q1-Q2 2021 to be included in this report.

The fastest 5G speeds are yet to come

5G is rapidly improving across the world and we’re eager to see how countries, cities and operators continue to perform during Q3 2021 and beyond. If you want to see how your 5G network performs against these benchmarks, please download the Android or iOS app, and take a Speedtest®. Learn more about 5G provider performance in select cities here, and visit the Ookla 5G MapTM to see which providers are offering 5G in your area.

Editor’s note: This article was updated on July 28 to reorganize the content for clarity.

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.

Global Speeds

About the Author

Josh Fomon

Ookla Research™ Articles
| December 6, 2021

Ookla Video Analytics Reveals the State of Global Video Experience

Services


Video is essential to today’s internet across the world. We use it to watch shows and movies, stream live events and even keep up to date on our favorite cats on social media. Ookla® launched video testing in the Speedtest® app for iOS and Android earlier this year so consumers can measure the quality of their video experience. Already, millions of video tests have been initiated by consumers. Today we’re sharing some of that data to provide insight into video experience around the world, specifically, we’ve analyzed adaptive start time and highest overall video resolution over all mobile technologies, 5G and fixed broadband in select countries during Q3 2021.

Switzerland had the fastest adaptive start time for all mobile technologies, South Africa fastest for 5G

Video streaming services use adaptive bitrate technology

All modern video streaming platforms use adaptive bitrate technology to automatically adjust video quality based on network conditions and device capabilities in order to display the highest quality video that a device can support, while minimizing buffering and slow video start time. Speedtest Video Analytics provides deep insights and competitive benchmarking for device and network video streaming capabilities.

Adaptive start time — the time it takes for adaptive bitrate playback to initiate — allows us to see how quickly videos are loading. A 2012 study found that users will leave a video if it doesn’t begin playing within two seconds. We have to imagine in 2021, that timeframe is being squeezed even further. Our analysis shows how countries are performing against this important benchmark.

ookla_adaptive-start-time_all-mobile-tech_1121-01-3

Speedtest Intelligence® reveals that Switzerland had the fastest median adaptive start time for all mobile technologies combined among the countries we analyzed at 1.02 seconds during Q3 2021. South Korea and Norway were close behind at 1.07 seconds and 1.10 seconds, respectively. Five more countries achieved a median adaptive start time at or under 1.25 seconds during Q3 2021, including Hong Kong (SAR) and Croatia (1.17 seconds), Portugal (1.24 seconds), and Kuwait and Mexico (1.25 seconds). All but three of the remaining countries we surveyed achieved a median adaptive start time between 1.25 seconds and 2.00 seconds during Q3 2021 except Colombia (2.11 seconds), Saudi Arabia (2.12 seconds) and India (2.13 seconds).

Most 5G-capable video tests showed blazing fast adaptive start times

ookla_adaptive-start-time_5g_1121-01

We’ve seen median 5G download speeds zoom ahead of traditional mobile technologies, even reaching median download speeds 10 times faster than on 4G LTE. It’s no surprise Video Analytics revealed adaptive start time was often much faster on 5G than on all mobile technologies combined. Five countries achieved median adaptive start times faster than 1.00 second during Q3 2021: South Africa (0.73 seconds), Switzerland (0.79 seconds), Norway (0.82 seconds), Hong Kong (0.86 seconds) and South Korea (0.90 seconds). Video Analytics shows the only countries with a median 5G adaptive start time slower than 1.25 seconds were the United States (1.27 seconds), Brazil (1.42 seconds) and Saudi Arabia (1.94 seconds).

Five countries’ adaptive start time improved more than 0.25 seconds on 5G compared to all technologies combined during Q3 2021: the Philippines (-0.62 seconds), South Africa (-0.53 seconds), Brazil (-0.39 seconds), Hong Kong (-0.31 seconds) and Norway (-0.29 seconds). However, several countries showed a less than 0.20 second improvement when comparing adaptive start rate on 5G to that on all technologies combined during Q3 2021: the U.S. (-0.14 seconds), Bahrain (-0.16 seconds), South Korea and Saudi Arabia (-0.17 seconds), and the United Kingdom (U.K.) and France (-0.18 seconds).

Adaptive start time is not always faster on fixed broadband

ookla_adaptive-start-time_fixed_1121-01-1

Speedtest Intelligence showed a narrower range for adaptive start time on fixed broadband than on 5G with every country on our list achieving between 0.67 and 1.85 seconds during Q3 2021. Ten countries on our list achieved a median adaptive start time faster than 1.00 second during Q3 2021: South Korea (0.67 seconds), Norway (0.74 seconds), Hong Kong (0.75 seconds), Switzerland (0.76 seconds), the U.K. (0.79 seconds), France (0.86 seconds), the U.S. (0.87 seconds), Spain (0.88 seconds), Portugal (0.89 seconds) and Italy (0.98 seconds).

Twenty out of the 24 countries we surveyed had a median fixed broadband adaptive start time faster than 1.50 seconds during Q3 2021. Colombia (1.50 seconds), Egypt (1.59 seconds), Turkey (1.64 seconds) and Saudi Arabia (1.85 seconds) were the only countries with a median adaptive start time slower than 1.50 seconds on fixed broadband during Q3 2021.

South Korea video tests reached 4K resolutions at the highest proportion on mobile and fixed broadband

Video resolution is incredibly important in the experience of streaming video and the higher the resolution, the more definition and clarity we are able to see. These days, the difference between an SD and 4K experience is gigantic. Resolution is measured in the numbers of pixels in a 16:9 ratio, with 2160 pixel height representing a 4K picture. Video Analytics measures the resolution rates, which represent the portion of samples that reach a particular resolution. In this analysis, we evaluated the resolution rates for 4K, typically the highest resolution users will need.

ookla_highest-video-resolution_all-mobile-tech_1121-01

Using Speedtest Intelligence, we found South Korea and Switzerland had the highest overall successful resolution rates for all mobile technologies combined during Q3 2021, reaching 4K resolutions 80.4% and 80.3% of the time, respectively. Croatia (79.7%), Kuwait (77.4%) and Norway (75.4%) were the only other countries on our list that achieved 4K video resolution more than 75.0% of the time. Only seven countries on our list did not reach a 4K resolution at least 50% of the time on all mobile technologies combined: the Philippines (38.4%), India (41.1%), Indonesia (44.8%), Colombia (45.3%), Mexico (46.3%), Russia (49.7%) and Egypt (49.9%).

5G led to higher video resolution, but 4K mobile devices still remain rare

ookla_highest-video-resolution_5g_1121-01

5G provided a higher resolution for mobile devices during Q3 2021 than all technologies combined. Every country we surveyed reached a 4K resolution over 80.0% of the time over 5G. In fact, six out of the 14 countries we surveyed for 5G achieved a 4K resolution more than 90.0% of the time, including South Korea (95.9%), Norway (94.5%), Kuwait (94.0%), South Africa (93.6%), Switzerland (92.6%) and France (91.5%). On the lower end of our list, only Italy (81.9%), Brazil (83.9%) and the U.S. (83.9%) achieved 4K resolutions less than 85.0% of the time.

While this is great news for the future of mobile devices, 4K resolutions in mobile devices still aren’t common: Sony is the only popular device manufacturer producing 4K mobile devices. In the meantime, users who can connect to 5G through either a hot spot or fixed wireless access (FWA) will reap the benefits of being able to stream on 4K devices like computers, televisions or tablets.

South Korean fixed broadband delivers ultra-high definition resolutions

ookla_highest-video-resolution_fixed_1121-01

Speedtest Intelligence reveals South Korea had the highest fixed broadband 4K resolution rate among countries surveyed at 92.2% during Q3 2021. Other countries that achieved 4K resolution rates above 85.0% on fixed broadband during Q3 2021 included: Switzerland (89.4%), Hong Kong (87.6%), Norway (87.1%) and the U.S. (86.7%). Every other country in our analysis achieved 4K resolution rates between 65.0% and 85.0%, except Egypt (49.5%), Indonesia (52.5%), the Philippines (64.2%) and Turkey (64.3%).

Video Analytics gives you the information you need about your video playback

We’re excited to share more about video performance and quality of experience using Video Analytics in the coming months. In the meantime, if you want to learn more about Video Analytics and how it can help you benchmark and improve your network, please join our upcoming webinar, December 9 by clicking here.

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.

Services

About the Author

Josh Fomon

Ookla Research™ Articles
| January 4, 2023

The Speedtest Global Index Shows These Countries Sped Forward for Internet Experience in 2022

Network Performance

Internet connectivity continues to speed ahead for people around the world, especially as countries prioritize and improve mobile and fixed broadband networks. That’s nowhere more apparent than on the Speedtest Global Index™, which tracks countries’ internet speeds and the overall global median internet speeds. Last year, we took a look at the state of the internet speeds over the years, and today we’re back to see how most of 2022 fared from November 2021 to November 2022, and what countries made our top 10 fastest mobile and fixed broadband lists.

Mobile download speed jumped nearly 17% over the last year globally, fixed broadband up at least 28%

Chart of increase in world download speeds from November 2021 through 2022

The improvement of global median download speeds has been somewhat asymmetrical over the past year on the Speedtest Global Index. Fixed broadband speeds made greater strides over the past year than mobile download speeds, with fixed broadband speeds becoming at least 28% faster and mobile becoming nearly 17% faster from November 2021 to November 2022. Gains in upload speed were even more pronounced with mobile becoming at least 9% faster and fixed broadband becoming at least 30% faster. Latency, which is becoming an increasingly important metric, decreased on mobile over the course of the year from 29 ms in 2021 to 28 ms in 2022, while fixed broadband latency remained the same at 10 ms.

Top 10 rankings remain relatively constant over the past year, U.A.E. joins fixed broadband list and Denmark, Macau (SAR), and Brunei race ahead for mobile during 2022

Chile raced ahead on fixed broadband

List of fastest countries for fixed braodband internet from November 2021 through 2022

The competition for the fastest fixed broadband was neck-and-neck on the Speedtest Global Index during 2022, with Chile (216.23 Mbps) taking top honors and China (214.23 Mbps) and Singapore (214.23 Mbps) a hair behind. Over the course of the year, the top 10 countries for fastest fixed broadband remained relatively the same while each country jostled up and down the list for fixed broadband superiority. Only Spain was replaced from the top 10 with the U.A.E. taking its place. Notably, China jumped four places from sixth to second, improving its median download speed from 146.62 Mbps in 2021 to 214.58 Mbps in 2022. Romania’s tenth place finish in 2022 would have earned fourth place in 2021, showing how fast these countries are all prioritizing improved fixed broadband speeds.

Qatar soars to first for fastest mobile country

List of fastest countries for mobile internet from November 2021 through 2022

Ahead of hosting the FIFA World Cup 2022®, Qatar rocketed to first place on the Speedtest Global Index with a median download speed of 176.18 Mbps in November 2022 from 98.10 Mbps in November 2022. Next on the list was the U.A.E. at 139.41 Mbps, which had the fastest median download speed in November 2021. Notably, all 10 countries on our November 2022 list had median mobile download speeds greater than 100 Mbps. New to our 2022 list Denmark (113.44 Mbps), Macau (SAR) (106.38 Mbps), and Brunei (102.36 Mbps) replaced Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, and Kuwait from our 2021 list.

Most of the top 10 countries perform well for fixed and mobile

Chart of 2022 perfromance against global median for leading countries

Out of the 17 countries appearing on either the fastest fixed broadband or mobile Speedtest Global Index top 10s during November 2021 — with China, Denmark, and the U.A.E. appearing on both lists — all but Monaco met the statistical threshold to be included to look at overall fixed and mobile performance. Looking at the remaining 16 countries, most every country on both lists performed relatively well against the global median for both fixed and mobile, which appear as gray lines in the image above. Three countries underperformed a global median: Brunei and Bulgaria for fixed, and Chile for mobile. Thailand performed at about roughly the global median for mobile, as did Romania.

We’re excited to see how global speeds and rankings change over the next year as individual countries and their providers choose to invest and expand different technologies, particularly in 5G and fiber. Be sure to track your country’s and check in on our monthly updates on the Speedtest Global Index. If you want more in-depth analyses and updates, subscribe to Ookla Research™.

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.

Network Performance

About the Author

Josh Fomon

Ookla Research™ Articles
| June 6, 2023

Live Fast, Work Abroad: Countries with Remote Work Visas and Great Internet

Consumer

Taking advantage of remote work in another country is the dream for many. Who hasn’t imagined themselves sipping fresh squeezed juice on a gorgeous tropical beach during a team call, cozying up next to a crackling fire in a European castle while pouring over a spreadsheet, or even just working anywhere that isn’t the office or our home couch? COVID-19 made working remotely more readily an option for some, and 51 countries have even gone so far as to create remote work or “digital nomad” visas. Today, Ookla® brings you fresh data on how these countries’ internet compares so you can start planning a long-term escape from your current reality. 

Using Speedtest Intelligence®, we looked for remote work countries with the fastest internet, tropical countries with remote work visas and fast internet, fastest European countries for remote work, countries where you won’t lose your connection, and seven affordable remote work countries with good internet. Read on to start planning your next life adventure.

Digital nomad countries with seriously fast internet

Chart of Fastest Countries for Remote Work

Getting the fast download speeds you need to do your daily tasks should be the least of your worries when you work abroad. Thailand had the fastest fixed broadband speeds among countries that have remote work visas with a median download speed of 196.20 Mbps and a median upload speed of 164.85 Mbps during Q1 2023. With speeds like those, you’ll be able to eat your Guay Teow while gaming, streaming multiple 4K videos, and uploading videos of your adventures with no issues (and you should be able to work, too). 

Spain (172.04 Mbps) and Romania (171.15 Mbps) were next on our list of fastest remote work destinations, followed by Hungary (134.43 Mbps), Portugal (128.50 Mbps), Taiwan (127.85 Mbps), Norway (111.44 Mbps), Panama (108.84 Mbps), and Brazil (100.38 Mbps), which all had median download speeds over 100 Mbps during Q1 2023. Rounding out our list of fastest remote work countries are Malta (97.55 Mbps) and Bermuda (97.20 Mbps). If speed is of the utmost importance to you while you work and live in another country, rest assured that these countries can handle the bandwidth you need.

Soak up the sun with fast internet in these beachy countries with remote work visas

Chart of Tropical Remote Work Countries with Fast Internet

If you dream of a remote work escape and prefer tropical, sunny beaches where you can sip piña coladas, we’ve got you covered (though don’t forget your sunblock when you venture outside!) Twenty-seven countries have digital nomad visas, average temperatures above 65° F (roughly 18° C), and beach access. Unsurprisingly, Thailand, again takes the top spot with a median download speed of 196.20 Mbps, followed by Taiwan (127.85 Mbps), Panama (108.84 Mbps), Brazil (100.38 Mbps), Malta (97.55 Mbps), Bermuda (97.20 Mbps), Malaysia (92.53 Mbps), Dominica (80.00 Mbps), Barbados (74.21 Mbps), and St. Lucia (71.40 Mbps). Grenada (65.25 Mbps), Costa Rica (65.07 Mbps), and Montserrat (63.22 Mbps) followed closely behind the top 10. 

If you choose to work remotely from one of these countries, we’ll be jealously awaiting you sharing your Speedtest® results on Twitter as you work from the beach, take a dip in the ocean during your break, and relax with a cool ocean breeze as your biggest worry in the world. 

These European countries with remote work visas had the fastest internet speeds

Chart of Internet Speeds in European Countries with Remote Work Visas

Maybe you’ve been watching all the Eurovision or have been dreaming of jetting off to European locations every weekend. Luckily for you, 16 European countries offer some version of a remote work visa. Speedtest Intelligence data reveals that Spain had the fastest median download speed at 172.04 Mbps during Q1 2023. Romania, Hungary, Portugal, and Norway followed with median download speeds above 100 Mbps. Malta (97.55 Mbps), Germany (82.05 Mbps), Latvia (77.76 Mbps), Estonia (64.80 Mbps), and Czechia (55.97 Mbps) rounded out the top 10, with Cyprus (53.71 Mbps) coming up just behind. Regardless of which European country you choose, you’ll be a few hours away from multiple countries with plenty to do and eat! 

10 remote work countries where you won’t lose your connection

Chart of 10 Remote Work Countries with the Most Consistent Internet

You shouldn’t have to stress about your internet connection while you’re working abroad — especially if you have to video chat often. So we used Speedtest Intelligence data to examine the Consistency — calculated by the percentage of results showing at least a 25 Mbps download speed and 3 Mbps upload speed over fixed broadband — in countries with remote work visas during Q1 2023. While there was no statistically highest Consistency, Thailand had a Consistency of 89.8%, Romania 89.7%, and Taiwan 89.5%. Norway followed at 87.3%, then Malaysia, Brazil, Portugal, Hungary, Spain, and Bermuda rounding out the top 10. Rest assured if you choose one of these countries, you should be able to stream and video chat while you work. Just remember to mute that movie during your team call.

Seven affordable places with good internet for digital nomads on a budget

Chart of 7 Affordable Remote Work Countries with Good Internet

Internet speed and consistency are important for remote work — but they’re not everything when you’re deciding where you want to spend your next adventure. If you’re looking for an affordable location to spend your time, save some money, and get good internet, we’ve got you covered.

We used thresholds of 50 Mbps download, 10 Mbps upload, and under 100 ms latency to designate a country of having “good” internet — these speed thresholds are minimums to what should allow you to stream in 4K, video chat, and do most work-related tasks. The latency threshold number is high, but cheap, fast internet with super low latency is not common enough. We compared that list against World Bank data for GDP per capita (PPP) from 2021 which adjusts for cost of living, and narrowed down countries that have less than the world average of $18,607. Seven countries qualified for inclusion on our list based on those criteria: Barbados, Brazil, Dominica, Ecuador, Grenada, Montserrat, and St. Lucia. 

Brazil had the fastest download speed at 100.38 Mbps on our affordable countries for remote work list, followed by Dominica (80.00 Mbps), Barbados (74.21 Mbps), St. Lucia (71.40 Mbps), Grenada (65.25 Mbps), Montserrat (63.22 Mbps), and Ecuador, which eked out a place on this list at 50.55 Mbps. Every country on this list had a median upload speed above 20 Mbps. All of the countries had a Consistency higher than 70%, except St. Lucia, which was just under at 68.3%. If latency, which causes the kind of lag that can make video calls frustrating, is a major concern, only Ecuador (14 ms) and Brazil (18 ms) had latencies under 20 ms. 

Regardless of where you choose to work remotely among these seven countries, you should have access to internet that can keep you on top of what you need to do at work, while you save some cash, live well, and hit the beach, since all of these countries have average temperatures above 70° F (21°C). You might just have to brush up on your Spanish, Creole, Patois, or Portuguese to really get an immersive experience, but you should sleep easy knowing that you can live well and continue to work online.

What do you need to know before applying for a remote work visa?

Currently, there are 51 countries that offer some form of a remote work visa. The requirements for these visas vary widely across each country, but generally there are a few key things you’ll need to know before you choose a country to apply to.

First, you need to decide where you are going! Besides checking internet performance, you’ll want to research how long a remote visa can last, how much money you are going to have to earn to qualify, what costs you’ll be looking at, options to renew the visa, and what kind of fees you’ll need to pay along the way. At a minimum, you’ll need a passport.

You often can’t just show up and start working remotely; for a long-term stay, you’ll need to apply for a visa (along with any family members you might want to bring along). Approval isn’t straightforward — you may need to prove your income, translate documents, get documents notarized, and even make a minimum amount of money each month. Once approved, you’ll typically pay a fee for each family member you are bringing, and you should make certain if you have any additional fees or taxes you’ll be liable to pay throughout your stay.

Once you have your visa in order, you’ll need to figure out your living situation — whether that is something longer term, or moving around a country, you’ll want to keep any requirements of your visa up to date. Do your due diligence while you apply so you don’t find yourself in an unpredictable situation you could have avoided.

Ookla has the resources you need to plan your remote work trip

We hope this short guide will help you choose the right remote work experience to help you feel fulfilled. If you want to learn more about the internet experience in any of the countries we mentioned, or even find city data or internet provider data for your remote work journey, check out the Speedtest Performance Directory™. If you’re struggling to find a decent internet provider in your area, check out our satellite internet series to see if there is a fast satellite internet connection available. And don’t forget to download the Speedtest app for Mac, Windows, or Linux to make sure you’re getting the speeds you need to continue working remotely!

Interested in what Ookla is doing? We offer fully remote positions around the world, so check out if there is an open role for you!

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
Bermuda
Montserrat

About the Author

Josh Fomon

Ookla Research™ Articles
| August 28, 2018

The Network Efficiencies that make Telenor the World’s Fastest Carrier

Spectrum

Speedtest data recently revealed that Norwegian carrier Telenor was the world’s fastest carrier during Q2 2018 with a mean download speed of 72.05 Mbps on modern (LTE-capable) devices. Because Telenor is an enterprise client of ours, we had the unique opportunity to sit down with their network team to learn what goes into building a world-class LTE network.

Layering frequencies to improve capacity and coverage

Telenor always builds cell sites with multiple frequencies in order to provide the right mix of coverage and capacity that delivers the best possible user experience. To that end, Telenor’s LTE has been deployed across three frequency bands: 800 MHz provides the foundation for coverage, 1800 MHz acts as the mid-band layer and 2600 MHz is used as a capacity layer. In addition to layering the disparate frequency bands by the way of Carrier Aggregation, Telenor has implemented the complete Gigabit LTE feature set on selected sites, including the 256QAM and 4×4 MIMO which ensures the highest possible network efficiencies.

Telenor Norway takes pride in being one of the operators with the largest share of voice traffic over LTE in the world, and is aggressively working towards allocating all available frequency bands to LTE. This includes plans to sunset the 3G layer in 2019-2020 to allow Telenor to repurpose the 900 MHz and 2100 MHz spectrum bands for LTE, which will deliver even faster speeds to users. The company will continue offering 2G until 2025, mainly for machine-to-machine and legacy voice services.

Incentivizing customers to use modern devices

Perhaps Telenor’s secret sauce is their very close relationship with smartphone manufacturers. This allows them to make the most out of pre-launch field tests to ensure that their customers are getting equipment that meets Telenor’s standards.

Telenor is also assertive with marketing incentives designed to upgrade customers to modern devices. This is because the newest flagship phones are faster and more efficient in their use of network resources as a result of being equipped with the most advanced LTE modems, RF front-end and four LTE antennas. This completes Telenor’s network ecosystem filled with efficiencies, ensuring the best possible user experience, and the highest return of investment.

Covering a complex geography

Telenor currently has 99.4% of Norwegians covered with LTE, encompassing 81% of land mass, including remote rural areas. They extend service to Norway’s famous fjords by leveraging the existing cell sites built during the 2G days and continuing to add new ones.

What’s next for Telenor

Telenor is currently conducting 5G trials in preparation for commercial launch in 2020. Potential use cases for their 5G include: fixed wireless, enhanced mobile broadband and prioritization for mission critical services like healthcare, emergency services and supporting Norway’s large fish farming industry. While 5G is expected to make a big splash when it’s launched, Telenor believes that the LTE technology will continue as the main network pillar for several years to come.

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.

Spectrum

About the Author

Ookla

Ookla Research™ Articles
| September 18, 2023

New Speedtest Data Shows Starlink Performance is Mixed — But That’s a Good Thing

Network Evolution

Satellite providers are playing no small part in the rapid expansion of global connectivity. Some experts predict there will be 58,000 satellites orbiting the earth by 2030 — a nearly 725% increase from 2023. Ookla® is back with our ongoing satellite internet series with compelling, fresh data for satellite providers in Africa, Europe, and Oceania during Q2 2023, including SpaceX’s Starlink, Viasat, and Skylogic.

This analysis includes Starlink Net Promoter Score (NPS) data for France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, year-over-year data for satellite providers in Europe and Oceania from Q2 2022 to Q2 2023, and new Q2 2023 data from Starlink in Africa.

Starlink users across different continents continue to love the service

Using Speedtest Intelligence®, we examined NPS ratings data for Starlink users against an aggregate of all fixed broadband providers combined. 

NPS is based on Speedtest® user responses after being asked how likely they are to recommend their provider to friends or family on a 0 to 10 scale. NPS ratings are categorized into Detractors (score 0-6), Passives (score 7-8), and Promoters (score 9-10), and is calculated as (% Promoters – % Detractors) x 100. Any NPS score above 0 indicates that a provider’s audience is more loyal than not.

Chart of NPS Performance in Select Countries

As you can see from the above image, Starlink users in France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, and the U.K. had an NPS score much higher than the aggregate score for all fixed broadband providers combined during Q2 2023. France had the highest NPS among the aggregate of fixed broadband providers for the countries we surveyed at -15.98 and fixed broadband providers had a much faster median download speed at 165.37 Mbps to Starlink’s 107.56 Mbps. In New Zealand there was a similar story with the aggregate of fixed broadband providers having a -20.40 NPS to Starlink’s 48.83, while having a faster median download speed 147.86 Mbps to 113.78 Mbps during Q2 2023.

Germany, which had the lowest NPS rating of aggregate of fixed broadband providers in Europe at -30.10, also had the smallest difference in NPS with Starlink scoring 38.19. Interestingly, the aggregate of fixed broadband providers and Starlink both had similar median download speeds at 83.16 Mbps and 82.56 Mbps, respectively, during Q2 2023.

Of note, Starlink had much higher NPS ratings and median download speeds than the aggregate of all fixed providers combined in Italy and the U.K., respectively, during Q2 2023. Starlink’s NPS was 50.20 to -25.61 for the aggregate of all fixed broadband providers in Italy during Q2 2023, while the median download speeds were 100.68 Mbps to 63.99 Mbps. In the U.K., Starlink’s NPS was 47.18 to -26.88 for the aggregate of all fixed broadband providers combined, with the median download speeds a little closer, 100.11 Mbps to 77.38 Mbps, respectively. 

In our last report, we found a wide NPS gap between U.S. rural Starlink users — who often have fewer options for fixed broadband access — and the corresponding aggregate of fixed broadband providers. Given that all five of these countries have rural or remote regions that are underserved or not served by traditional broadband offerings, it may be no surprise that Starlink users who reside in those areas may feel positive about having access to fast broadband internet. 

Starlink speeds over 100 Mbps in 14 European countries during Q2 2023, speeds stabilizing across Europe

Key takeaways:

  • Starlink results were the fastest among satellite providers we surveyed.
  • Starlink quarter-to-quarter speeds improved or remained about the same (between 5% and -5%) in 23 countries, while decreasing in 4 countries.
  • Among the 27 European countries we surveyed, Starlink had median download speeds greater than 100 Mbps in 14 countries, greater than 90 Mbps in 20 countries, and greater than 80 in 24 countries, with only three countries failing to reach 70 Mbps.
  • Skylogic, while delivering speeds slower than Starlink, showed stabilized broadband speeds over the past year for those seeking a Starlink alternative.
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Croatia, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Belgium, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Bulgaria, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Croatia, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Czech Republic, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Denmark, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Estonia, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Finland, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in France, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Germany, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Greece, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Hungary, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Ireland, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Italy, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Latvia, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Lithuania, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Netherlands, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Norway, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Poland, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Portugal, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Romania, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Slovakia, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Sl, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Spain, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Sweden, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Switzerland, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in United Kingdom, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023

Over the past year, we’ve seen huge developments in the global satellite market, Europe notwithstanding, with Amazon’s Project Kuiper moving forward, the EU creating its own satellite constellation, and OneWeb and Eutelsat merging. While Starlink continues to lead for performance among satellite providers we surveyed, Starlink has experienced some major hurdles over the past year as users flock to the service and speeds have subsequently dipped — but of note those concerns seem to have started allaying in most of Europe during Q2 2023.

At first glance, year-over-year median download speeds for Starlink are about the same (-5% to 5%) or better (greater than 5%) from Q2 2022 to Q2 2023 in 15 countries and slower (decreasing more than 5%) in 8 countries. But among the 27 countries we surveyed during Q2 2023, Starlink had speeds faster than the aggregate of all fixed broadband providers combined in 11 countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, and the U.K.) Those speeds were most notably faster in Croatia and Greece for Starlink at 94.41 Mbps to 45.24 Mbps and 108.97 to 44.09 Mbps, respectively, during Q2 2023. Speeds were about the same in four countries (Finland, Slovenia, Germany, and Lithuania), and speeds were slower than the aggregate of fixed broadband providers in 12 countries, most notably in Poland, Spain, Romania, Denmark, and France which saw between 50% and 105% faster aggregate fixed broadband speeds than Starlink.

Quarterly download speeds stabilizing or improving

Looking at results from Q1 2023 to Q2 2023, median download speeds for Starlink remained about the same (between 5% and -5%) in 23 countries, while decreasing in four countries. That’s a big deal, especially given Starlink had median download speeds greater than 100 Mbps in 14 countries, and greater than 90 Mbps in 20 countries, and greater than 80 in 24 countries — with only three countries failing to reach 70 Mbps.

While trailing Starlink speeds, Skylogic recorded median download speeds in Italy at 29.21 Mbps during Q2 2023, a roughly 27% statistical increase year-over-year from 22.28 Mbps during Q2 2022. Notably, Skylogic recorded a median download speed of 68.44 Mbps in Italy during Q1 2023. Among the various countries we recorded Skylogic data for during the past year, the range of median download speeds varied between 19.53 Mbps and 68.44 Mbps, with most speeds between 28 and 50 Mbps, all fast enough to stream 4K video online. Viasat, had relatively similar download speeds in Germany and Italy at 17.22 Mbps and 17.45 Mbps, respectively, during Q2 2023. 

Top 10 fastest Starlink download speeds in European countries

Chart of Top 10 Fastest Starlink Median Download Speeds in Europe

Starlink in Switzerland had one of the fastest median download speed among countries with Starlink during Q2 2023 at 122.47 Mbps, followed by Denmark (117.38 Mbps), Austria (111.91 Mbps), Belgium (111.20 Mbps), Hungary (108.97 Mbps), France (107.56 Mbps), Ireland (104.42 Mbps), Estonia (102.38 Mbps), Portugal (101.75 Mbps), and Latvia (100.94 Mbps). Sweden, Italy, Bulgaria, and the U.K. all followed but had speeds greater than 100 Mbps.

Upload speeds for Starlink are down year over year, but quarterly speeds almost all improved or were about the same

Upload speeds for Starlink mostly decreased notably year over year, with only the U.K. showing an improved median upload speed in Q2 2023 out of 27 countries surveyed. However, looking quarter to quarter, Q2 2023 upload speeds for Starlink stayed about the same or improved in 25 out of 27 countries, with only Greece and Ireland showing declines. For upload speeds, Starlink all 27 countries we surveyed had upload speeds between 10 Mbps and 15 Mbps except Portugal (17.70 Mbps), Hungary (16.91 Mbps), Croatia (16.12 Mbps), Bulgaria (15.93 Mbps), Romania (15.82 Mbps), Spain (15.79 Mbps), and Poland (9.11 Mbps). Starlink in Greece was the only instance of a satellite provider in Europe having an upload speed greater than the aggregate of all fixed providers combined, 12.97 Mbps for Starlink to 7.85 Mbps for the aggregate of fixed broadband providers combined. Skylogic showed upload speeds lower than 4 Mbps in both Austria and Italy during Q2 2023. Viasat had upload speeds of 3.51 Mbps in Germany and 4.69 Mbps in Italy during Q2 2023. 

Multi-server latency is stabilizing for Starlink users across Europe

As an low-earth orbiting (LEO) satellite internet provider, Starlink has a leg up on some satellite competitors who rely on further away geosynchronous-earth orbit (GEO) and medium-earth orbit (MEO) satellite constellations. However, once again, all the aggregates of all fixed broadband providers in Europe had much lower multi-server latencies than Starlink, Viasat (which had latencies over 600 ms) and Skylogic (which had latencies over 700 ms). That being said, Starlink still saw multi-server latencies under 60 ms in the U.K. (51.26 ms), Spain (53.37 ms), Portugal (55.84 ms), and Belgium (59.34 ms). Starlink saw most countries’ multi-server latencies between 60 and 90 ms.

Starlink speeds stabilize in Oceania

“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Australia, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in New Zealand, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023
“> Chart of Satellite Performance in Tonga, Q2 2022 – Q2 2023

Oceania, the second least densely populated continent in the world to Antarctica, has rural and remote populations that benefit from (and even rely on) satellite internet connections. Luckily for rural and remote Starlink users, they’ve probably seen a good amount of stability over the past year with Q2 2023 median download speeds in New Zealand at 113.78 Mbps (105.99 Mbps in Q2 2022) and Australia at 104.92 Mbps (102.76 Mbps in Q2 2022). Tonga, which is very remote, saw download speeds drop from 45.25 Mbps in Q2 2022 to 37.95 Mbps in Q2 2023. 

Upload speeds also showed some stability with Australia going from 10.45 Mbps in Q2 2022 to 11.33 Mbps during Q2 2023 and New Zealand going from 12.31 Mbps to 14.62 during the same time period. Tonga saw a notable drop in speeds year over year from 19.26 Mbps in Q2 2022 to 6.66 Mbps Q2 2023. 

Multi-server latency, which usually will be higher for satellite internet options, showed promising results for Starlink in Oceania during Q2 2023. Multi-server latency dropped noticeably in New Zealand year over year, going from 89.38 ms in Q2 2022 to 46.42 ms in Q2 2023. Australia saw a more modest drop with multi-server latency going from 63.04 ms to 59.78 ms from Q2 2022 to Q2 2023. Tonga saw an increase in multi-server latency from 125.24 ms to 137.16 ms during the same time period.

Starlink in Africa is off to a promising start

Chart of Satellite Performance in Africa, Q2 2023

Starlink, which first launched on the African continent in Nigeria this past January, is showing intriguing early results. Speedtest Intelligence showed that Starlink in Nigeria had a faster median download speeds than all aggregate fixed broadband providers combined at 63.69 Mbps to 15.60 Mbps during Q2 2023. Upload speeds were more similar during the same time period with Starlink at 13.72 Mbps and the aggregate of all fixed broadband providers combined at 10.60 Mbps. Starlink did have a marginally higher multi-server latency at 55.88 ms to 50.26 ms during Q2 2023.

In Rwanda, median download speeds were a little closer with Starlink recording a median download speed at 63.10 Mbps in Q2 2023 compared to the aggregate of all fixed broadband providers combined at 34.55 Mbps. Starlink trailed behind for median upload speed at 6.88 Mbps to 10.05 Mbps for fixed broadband providers during Q2 2023. Multi-server latency for Starlink was much higher at 320.45 ms to 29.04 ms for fixed broadband providers during the same time period.

The 2023 space revolution is off to a huge start

Here are some major updates about what’s next for various different satellite competitors:

After delays, Amazon’s Project Kuiper aim to launch prototype satellites this fall

Facing a series of rocket-related delays, Amazon recently announced it could send its first two Project Kuiper prototypes into orbit in late September. That news follows a recently announced $120 million 100,000-square-foot satellite processing facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Planning on offering internet service in 2025, Amazon is slated to have half of its 3,236 LEO satellite constellation in space by 2026.

China’s grand ambitions to provide internet connectivity to over 362 million people

According to the Wall Street Journal, over 362 million people in China don’t have access to the internet — which is about 1 in every 4 people in China, a large portion of which live in rural or remote communities. In order to overcome that connectivity gap, China is looking to the sky to create its own satellite constellation with potentially over 12,000 satellites. China’s biggest gap seems to be with recreating the success of SpaceX’s reusable rockets — however, initial tests are far underway and a host of reusable rockets are slated for test launches in 2024. 

SpaceX’s Starlink service offerings are about to rapidly expand

While Starlink continues to lead among satellite providers in most areas of the world, their expansion is only starting. Looking at the Starlink availability map, Starlink has an incredibly busy rest of 2023 and 2024 in Africa, Asia, and South America — and they’re marking their intent to expand into most of the world. That comes as Starlink marked launching over 5,000 satellites into space at the end of August. With some wiley entrepreneurs already renting out their Starlink “Dishy McFlatfaces” to vacationers and campers for $25-30 dollars a day, satellite connectivity is truly becoming a full-time gig.

Viasat’s bad luck might affect entire industry

Viasat launched the first of its three long-awaited Viasat-3 arrays — but then their first satellite suffered an antenna anomaly, which prevented a large reflector to deploy that affects whether or not the satellite can operate as intended. While Viasat is rushing to solve the issue, this could ultimately trigger a $420 million insure claim for the loss of the $700 million satellite. With such a high-value loss, this could send ripples through the satellite industry, causing insurance premiums to skyrocket for companies looking to mitigate potential losses through insurance. All of this comes on the heels of acquiring Inmarsat in May for $7.3 billion to expand its satellite arrays and spectrum holdings. We’ll be watching to see whether or not Viasat can find a solution. 

Eutelsat and OneWeb merger imminent, big moves abound

The Eutelsat and OneWeb merger should make competitors take notice — combining satellite networks, expanding enterprise offerings, and competing in emerging markets has big revenue potential — with OneWeb having an already established LEO network of 630 satellites and Eutelsat offering 36 GEO satellites. Of note, OneWeb recently inked a deal with Telstra in Australia to provide satellite backhaul for locations “where satellite backhaul is a preferred or only viable option.” OneWeb is also partnering with the European Space Agency to develop a next-gen 5G beam-hopping satellite, which could quickly increase connectivity for people traveling or for disaster areas that need emergency connectivity. Shareholders are set to vote on approving the merger on Sept. 28.

European Union greenlights multi-orbit constellation

With grand ambitions to launch a multi-orbit, €6 billion constellation in 2024, the European Union is partnering with a consortium of industry players including Airbus, SES, Eutelsat, Hispasat, and Thales to develop the EU’s IRIS² project. The EU still expects to have the first of its satellites go live by the end of 2024 and have a fully operational constellation by 2027.

HughesNet aiming to launch Jupiter 3 array in Q2 2023

HughesNet successfully launched its Jupiter 3 array on July 29, which aims to provide U.S. and Latin America consumers with higher broadband download speeds. While the actual satellite will take some time to reach its geosynchronous orbit and deploy, this satellite adds 500 Gbps of Ka-band capacity for HughesNet, which could see consumers reaching download speeds between 50 Mbps and 100 Mbps. We’ll be eagerly awaiting Speedtest® results from HughesNet’s Jupiter 3 array.

Ookla will continue monitoring new satellite internet developments

2023 continues to be an important year for satellite internet providers. Satellite connectivity is something we’ll be watching closely and we’ll continue our series next quarter with Q3 2023 data from select continents including North America. In the meantime, be sure to download the Speedtest app for Windows and Mac computers or for iOS or Android for devices and see how your satellite internet stacks up to our results.

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.

Network Evolution
Satellite

About the Author

Ookla

Ookla Research™ Articles
| September 8, 2021

Despite All Odds, Global Internet Speeds Continue Impressive Increase

Global Speeds


“A lot has changed” we wrote in our 2019 global roundup of internet speeds based on the Speedtest Global Index™. Little did we know how much was about to change. But two things remain the same: the internet is getting faster and the Speedtest Global Index is still a fantastic resource for tracking improvements on a global and country level (if we do say so ourselves). Today we’re taking a look back at how much internet speeds have increased over the past four years and which countries have seen some of the largest gains.

Mobile download speed jumped 59.5% over the last year globally, fixed broadband up 31.9%

The global mean of download speeds improved over the last 12 months on both mobile and fixed broadband to 55.07 Mbps and 107.50 Mbps, respectively, in July 2021. Mobile saw an increase of 59.5% when comparing July 2020 to July 2021 and fixed broadband saw an increase of 31.9%, according to the Speedtest Global Index.

ookla_global-index_world-speeds_0921-1

Looking further back, mean download speed over mobile was 98.9% faster in July 2021 than in July 2019, 141.4% faster when comparing July 2021 to July 2018, and 194.0% faster when comparing July 2021 to June 2017, the month we began tracking speeds on the Speedtest Global Index. Over the last two years there were only two months when the global average for mobile download speed did not show an upward slope: February and March 2020. Speeds began increasing again in April 2020, but did not recover to pre-February levels until May 2020. This coincides with initial lockdowns due to COVID-19 in many countries.

On fixed broadband, mean download speed was 68.2% faster in July 2021 than in July 2019, 131.3% faster in July 2021 than in July 2018, and 196.1% faster in July 2021 than in June 2017. There was a similar dip in download speed over fixed broadband in March of 2020 as we saw on mobile. The speed increased again in April 2020 but did not recover to a pre-March level until April 2020.

Top 10 rankings are somewhat constant over three years, U.S. and Canada slip off in 2021

There has been surprising parity of which countries continue to occupy the top 10 spots on the Speedtest Global Index in July of each year. However, the lists for mobile and fixed broadband are radically different, with only one country (South Korea) showing up on both lists in 2021.

ookla_fastest-countries_mobile_0921

The United Arab Emirates and South Korea maintain their first and second place rankings for mobile in both 2020 and 2021 and China and Qatar merely flip-flop for third and fourth place. It’s interesting to see Australia and Canada decline in the rankings although their speeds have increased dramatically during the past three years. 5G is shifting mobile rankings where even countries with 5G (which few countries had in 2019) need a strong 5G focus to maintain their presence at the top of the list lest they be outpaced by other countries with larger investments in 5G.

ookla_fastest-countries_fixed_0921

The fixed broadband rankings are more dynamic than those on mobile. Monaco traveled up and down the top 10 from sixth place in 2019 to 10th in 2020 to first place in 2021. Singapore ranked first or second in all three years and Hong Kong (SAR) was in the top four. Romania was solidly in fifth place while South Korea dropped lower in the ranking every year. Chile and Denmark both debuted in the top 10 in 2021 and the United States dropped off the list.

Most of the top 10 countries perform well for fixed and mobile

We were curious to see if countries that made the top 10 in July 2021 for either mobile or fixed broadband were also performing well on the other medium, so we plotted the percentage difference from the global average for mobile download speed against download speed on fixed broadband. Note that the global average increased between 2020 and 2021 and that Liechtenstein and Monaco are not included in this comparison as they did not have sufficient samples to be listed on both axes.

2020/2021 chart of leading country performance again global averages

Most countries that made the top 10 in July 2021 for either mobile or fixed broadband were performing well over the global average for both at that point in time. South Korea and the U.A.E. stood out with mean mobile download speeds that were more than 240% faster than the global average and fixed broadband downloads that were more than 70% faster than the global average. China’s mobile download speed was more than 180% faster than the global average and the country was more than 70% faster than the global average for fixed broadband. Switzerland’s mobile and fixed broadband download speeds were close to 100% faster than the global average.

Chile and Thailand are in a quadrant that shows both had faster than average fixed broadband download speeds, but their mobile download speeds were slower than the global average in July 2021. Australia, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Saudi Arabia were in the opposite quadrant with faster than average mobile speeds and below average fixed broadband speeds.

Comparing the chart for July 2021 to that of July 2020, we saw a wide variety of outcomes. Countries with increases compared to the global average on mobile and fixed broadband included Australia, Cyprus, Denmark, Hong Kong, Romania and the U.A.E. Chile and Norway showed dramatic increases compared to the global average on fixed broadband and declines on mobile. Bulgaria, China, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Switzerland increased on mobile but showed little change on fixed. South Korea and Qatar increased on mobile compared to the global average and declined on fixed. Singapore and Thailand declined on both mobile and fixed broadband compared to the global average.

We’re interested to see how global speeds and rankings change over time as individual countries and their providers choose to invest in different technologies. Track your country’s performance using monthly updates on the Speedtest Global Index. Check the Ookla 5G Map™ for up-to-date information on 5G deployments where you live, and if you want more in-depth analyses, subscribe to Ookla Research™.

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.

Global Speeds

About the Author

Isla McKetta

Ookla Research™ Articles
| March 14, 2019

Ditch the Lag: Cities with Great Gaming Culture and Low Ping

Global Speeds

Yes, you can game from anywhere with an internet connection. But if you’re at all competitive, it’s nice to play from somewhere with low ping and fast internet speeds. Plus when you need to leave the house, it’s extra nice to know you’re also surrounded by gamer culture. We’ve examined February 2019 Speedtest results in 35 cities that are known for their esports events, gaming conferences, game companies and more to find out who has the advantage and ranked them based on their ping.

The top contenders

Eleven_Gaming_Cities_0219

First place Bucharest, Romania is home to super-low ping, a lightning fast download speed and a thriving gaming culture. From Bucharest Gaming Week (which includes the CS:GO Southeast Europe Championship and the FIFA National Tournament) to their numerous local game studios, Bucharest is a great place to be a gamer whether you’re online or out and about.

The next five gaming cities with the lowest pings are all in Asia. Hangzhou, China comes in second overall with a fast ping and world-class download speeds. This city is so devoted to its gamers that it opened a $280 million gaming “city” in 2018 and plans 14 new esports arenas before 2022. Coming in third, Chengdu, China has an equally low ping to our first two contenders and serves as one of two host locations in China for the Global Mobile Game Confederation (GMGC). Both Hangzhou and Chengdu are also franchise holders in the Overwatch League, giving local gaming fans something to cheer about. Fourth place Singapore, host of the 5th Annual GameStart Convention in October 2018, had only a slightly slower ping than the first four cities and the fastest download speed of any of the cities we considered.

South Korea is home to the fifth and sixth best cities for gamers. A satellite city of Seoul, Seongnam-si boasts the Pangyo Techno Valley (a.k.a. the Silicon Valley of Korea) and numerous game development companies. Perfect for a city with a 9 ms ping. Though Incheon’s ping was a little slower at 12 ms, gamers there can console themselves with the city’s gamer cred — the 2018 League of Legends World Championship was held in Incheon’s Munhak Stadium.

Coming in at number seven, Budapest, Hungary is an emerging game city, having hosted its first big esports event (the V4 Future Sports Festival) in 2018, but a 12 ms ping makes them a strong contender. More established Malmö, Sweden is number eight with a slightly slower average download speed but the city is headquarters to Massive Entertainment, creators of Tom Clancy’s The Division series, Far Cry 3, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations and many more.

Vancouver, Canada, North America’s only qualifier for the top gaming cities list, comes in at number nine with a 12 ms ping and many gaming companies including the Canadian arms of Nintendo of Canada and EA (Electronic Arts). We included both Shanghai, China and Moscow, Russia on the top gamer cities list as both had a 12 ms ping as well, though the internet speeds in Shanghai are superior. Shanghai will also host the International Dota 2 in 2019 while Moscow is known for Epicenter.

The rest of the pack

Notably absent from the list above is most of the western hemisphere. Cities in North America were held back by their high pings. Cities in South America suffered from high pings and also slow internet speeds — something that esports leagues have complained is a barrier to investment.

Our full list of gaming cities provides wider geographical representation, even if the internet performance is not always as stellar. You’ll find Los Angeles in 27th place, behind Seattle, Boston and Las Vegas. And São Paulo, Brazil has the best showing in Latin America at 23rd.

Internet Performance in 35 Cities with a Gaming Culture
Speedtest Results | February 2019
City Ping (ms) Mean Download (Mbps) Mean Upload (Mbps)
Bucharest, Romania 8 172.13 126.57
Hangzhou, China 8 125.93 29.54
Chengdu, China 8 101.92 33.80
Singapore 9 196.43 200.08
Seongnam-si, South Korea 9 155.25 114.83
Incheon, South Korea 12 139.84 102.91
Budapest, Hungary 12 132.72 54.46
Malmö, Sweden 12 126.28 105.67
Vancouver, Canada 12 117.55 50.23
Shanghai, China 12 75.14 30.06
Moscow, Russia 12 64.56 63.59
Oslo, Norway 13 115.46 69.03
Hong Kong, Hong Kong (SAR) 14 167.59 161.14
Zürich, Switzerland 14 144.36 109.39
Seattle, United States 15 138.50 79.88
Stockholm, Sweden 15 134.16 93.83
Auckland, New Zealand 15 92.05 53.30
Toronto, Canada 16 134.75 67.42
Boston, United States 17 152.42 60.87
Las Vegas, United States 17 141.69 41.22
Chennai, India 17 48.40 42.93
Cologne, Germany 18 63.77 18.36
São Paulo, Brazil 18 46.43 21.57
Jakarta, Indonesia 18 17.88 10.21
Mumbai, India 19 23.40 19.26
Paris, France 20 161.04 93.68
Los Angeles, United States 20 121.00 23.57
London, United Kingdom 20 63.58 23.18
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 20 36.50 13.33
Buenos Aires, Argentina 21 34.31 6.40
Katowice, Poland 22 83.99 20.91
Mexico City, Mexico 25 37.66 15.39
Sydney, Australia 25 34.20 9.61
Santiago, Chile 26 56.13 18.49
Tokyo, Japan 28 99.24 101.90

Of course, die-hard gamers will know that a low ping in your city won’t necessarily save you if you’re playing on a distant server.

What’s the ping like in your city? Take a Speedtest and see if your connection is hurting your gameplay.

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.

Global Speeds

About the Author

Isla McKetta