Tag: U.S. Virgin Islands

Ookla Research™ Articles
| May 8, 2023

New Speedtest Data Shows Starlink Users Love Their Provider

Network Evolution

Satellite internet competition is heating up and Ookla® has exciting, fresh data from Q4 2022 and Q1 2023 for HughesNet, SpaceX’s Starlink, and Viasat in North America, South America, and the Caribbean, as well as new Starlink markets we haven’t yet featured in our ongoing satellite internet series. 

This analysis includes Starlink Net Promoter Score (NPS) for metro and nonmetro internet connections in the United States, year-over-year data for Starlink in Canada, Chile, Mexico, and the U.S., and Starlink results from three new countries (Philippines, Nigeria, and Peru).

Starlink users in metro and nonmetro areas love Starlink, fixed broadband users dislike their internet service providers

Using Speedtest Intelligence®, we examined NPS ratings by Starlink users and all fixed broadband providers combined for “metropolitan” and “nonmetropolitan” counties as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. NPS 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.

Chat of Metropolitan vs. Nonmetropolitan NPS and Performance in the United States

As you see above, the difference in NPS between Starlink and all fixed broadband providers combined is stark: both metro and nonmetro Starlink far outperformed metro and nonmetro ISPs combined for NPS. Metro Starlink had a score of 31.94 compared to -23.62 for all metro fixed broadband providers combined, despite Starlink having a median download speed of 65.29 Mbps compared to 203.93 Mbps for all metro fixed broadband providers combined. Nonmetro Starlink had an even higher NPS at 42.21 compared to nonmetro ISPs at -21.27 — that’s especially notable given that Starlink’s median download speed was much closer to the median nonmetro fixed broadband speed at 72.18 Mbps to 100.41 Mbps. 

Clearly, Starlink provides a much loved option for more rural, nonmetro users who often don’t have many good — if any — internet options. And the message is loud and clear: Starlink users are more than willing to recommend the service and love the internet they are getting.

Starlink speeds increased in Canada and the U.S. over the past two quarters, but are mixed year-over-year

Chart of Starlink Performance in Select Countries in North and South America

As Starlink continues to become an increasingly popular and beloved option for users, especially those in more rural areas, steady increases in speeds in two large markets like Canada and the U.S. bode well for the internet provider. These increases come as major upgrades to Starlink’s satellite array are beginning, with Starlink having just launched 46 nextgen satellites on April 27, so we wouldn’t be surprised if speeds keep climbing across the globe.

In North America, all of the countries we surveyed saw slower median download and upload speeds during Q1 2023 than Q1 2022. However, Canada saw just about a 3 Mbps decrease in download speed from Q1 2022 to Q1 2023, with about a 28 Mbps increase over the past two quarters. The U.S., where Starlink has many more users, saw about a 24 Mbps decrease year-over-year for median download speeds, but at least a 13 Mbps increase during Q4 2022 and Q1 2023. Mexico, which saw 100+ Mbps median download speeds during Q1 2022, saw a roughly 49 Mbps dip year-over-year as more users signed up for the service; however, speeds leveled slightly with only an overall dip of about 8 Mbps during the past two quarters.

In South America, Chilean Starlink speeds slowed about 22 Mbps from Q1 2022 to Q1 2023, however, speeds only slowed about 8 Mbps over the past two quarters. Chile has continually ranked in the top four for fastest fixed broadband speeds on the Speedtest Global Index™ for over a year now. 

Starlink in Canada blazed ahead as the fastest satellite provider in mainland North America

Chart of Satellite vs. Fixed Broadband Internet in North America

Speedtest Intelligence reveals that Starlink in Canada had the fastest download speed among satellite providers in mainland North America at 93.97 Mbps. That was about 40% faster than the runner-up, which was Starlink in the U.S. at 66.59 Mbps. Starlink in Mexico was next at 56.42 Mbps, and was faster than all fixed broadband providers in Mexico combined at 50.46 Mbps. 

Viasat in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. made noticeable performance leaps over download speed from Q3 2022 when we last measured North American satellite providers. Canada went from 24.36 Mbps in Q3 2022 to 48.24 Mbps in Q1 2023, the U.S. from 28.07 Mbps to 36.47 Mbps, and Mexico from 16.14 Mbps to 24.06 Mbps. Hughesnet trailed over download speed in the U.S. (16.32 Mbps) and in Mexico (12.98 Mbps).

For upload speeds, all satellite providers trailed fixed broadband speeds in their respective countries, with Starlink in Canada achieving the fastest satellite upload speed at 9.60 Mbps, followed by Starlink in Mexico (8.47 Mbps) and the U.S. (7.74 Mbps). Viasat and HughesNet trailed behind.

Multi-server latency showed the stark difference of satellite internet’s real limitations, with the huge distances between satellite and users adding up to longer lag times than fixed broadband. Starlink had the only latencies under 100 ms among satellite providers, with Starlink in the U.S. having the lowest latency at 62 ms, followed by Canada (70 ms) and Mexico (97 ms). Viasat and HughesNet, which have farther geosynchronous orbits (GEO) than Starlink’s low-earth orbit (LEO), had much higher latencies.

Starlink in Chile raced ahead as the fastest satellite provider in South America

Chart of Satellite vs. Fixed Broadband Internet in South America

Starlink in Chile was the fastest satellite provider in South America during Q1 2023, edging out Starlink in Peru by about 5% with a median download speed at 84.62 Mbps to 77.17 Mbps. No satellite provider outperformed all fixed broadband providers combined in Q1 2023, but Starlink in Colombia and Brazil both reached median download speeds above 70 Mbps at 73.51 Mbps and 70.92 Mbps, respectively. HughesNet in Chile broke 20 Mbps at 21.01 Mbps, while Viasat in Brazil only reached 14.41 Mbps.

Satellites were outperformed by fixed broadband over upload speed in South America during Q1 2023, but Starlink had median upload speeds that ranged from 13.90 Mbps to 22.08 Mbps, the fastest being in Peru. HughesNet ranged from 2.12 Mbps to 3.21 Mbps, and Viasat in Brazil was at 1.42 Mbps.

Starlink’s multi-server latency dipped below 60 ms in three South American markets during Q1 2023: Peru (48 ms), Chile (54 ms), and Colombia (55 ms). Brazil followed at 75 ms, which was the next lowest. Viasat and HughesNet trailed far behind.

Starlink in Jamaica was the fastest Caribbean satellite provider

Chart of Satellite vs. Fixed Broadband Internet in the Caribbean

Speedtest Intelligence reveals that Starlink in Jamaica was the fastest satellite provider in the Caribbean at 83.79 Mbps during Q1 2023. Starlink was faster than all fixed broadband providers in Jamaica, and both Starlink and Viasat were faster than all providers combined in the Dominican Republic during Q1 2023. Starlink reached median download speeds of over 50 Mbps during Q1 2023 in Jamaica (83.79 Mbps), Puerto Rico (74.61 Mbps), and the U.S. Virgin Islands (57.08 Mbps), while it fell just short of that benchmark in the Dominican Republic (46.24 Mbps). Viasat had median download speeds of 37.07 Mbps and 33.37 Mbps in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, respectively, during Q1 2023, while HughesNet had a median download speed of 23.74 Mbps in Puerto Rico during Q1 2023.

Upload speeds showed a bit more parity between satellite providers with only Starlink in Jamaica rising above 10 Mbps with a median upload speed of 13.45 Mbps during Q1 2023. Starlink had median upload speeds ranging from 6.65 Mbps to 13.45 Mbps, HughesNet had a median upload speed at 3.78 Mbps in Puerto Rico, and Viasat had upload speeds of 1.02 Mbps and 1.03 Mbps in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, respectively, during Q1 2023. 

For multi-server latency, Caribbean satellite users saw higher multi-server latencies than mainland North and South America with only Starlink in Jamaica breaking under 100 ms. While fast speeds for remote users are always going to be appreciated, multi-server latencies of over 100 ms do make some internet uses much harder to do well like live gaming and video conferencing.

New Q1 2023 Starlink countries show promising initial results

Chart of Satellite vs. Fixed Broadband Internet in Select Countries

Speedtest Intelligence data shows new Starlink data in three countries during Q1 2023, including Nigeria, Peru, and the Philippines, where Starlink is still a nascent provider with limited market share. Median download speeds for new Starlink countries were: 110.78 Mbps in the Philippines, 77.17 Mbps in Peru, and 61.75 Mbps in Nigeria during Q1 2023. 

Starlink had slower upload speeds than all fixed broadband providers combined in all of the new countries except Nigeria, which was too close to call at 11.17 Mbps to 10.70 Mbps. Starlink had a much higher latency than fixed broadband providers in the Philippines (162 ms) in Q1 2023, though it came very close in Nigeria 57 ms to 46 ms. 

It should be noted that satellite constellations have limited network bandwidth capacity, which may affect the consumer experience as more users sign up for the service. Starlink’s reach within these markets will also be limited by the cost of equipment (CPE) in particular, which ranges from PEN 1,750 ($470) in Peru, to PHP 29,320 ($530) in the Philippines and NGN 268,584 ($590) in Nigeria (prices correct at time of publication).

The 2023 space revolution is off to a huge start

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

Amazon’s Project Kuiper showcases low-cost customer satellite terminals

After Amazon’s Project Kuiper 3,236 satellite LEO constellation was greenlit by the FCC, Amazon swiftly moved to showcase its consumer terminals in March. These new terminals have different tiered models, which are promised to deliver 100 Mbps and 400 Mbps models for consumers and businesses, and 1 Gbps models for “enterprise, government, and telecommunications applications that require even more bandwidth.” Furthermore, Amazon is getting into the chipset business and producing their own 5G modem chip, which will feature in each terminal.

Viasat launched its Viasat-3 arrays

On April 30, 2023, Viasat launched the first of three long-awaited Viasat-3 arrays, which aims to provide 1 Terabit per second (Tbps) of network capacity on each satellite, double that of the entire operating fleet. Add two more satellites and Viasat could raise the throughput up to 500-600% of its current network capacity. That could allow its users to experience 100+ Mbps connections — a huge improvement for many consumers. We’ll be eagerly anticipating results in the coming quarters.

Eutelsat, OneWeb, and Intelsat are making big moves

While the merger of Eutelsat and OneWeb has yet to be fully completed, both satellite operators inked major deals with Intelsat to add more global satellite capacity. Furthermore, OneWeb launched an additional 36 LEO satellites into orbit in late March 2023, providing additional options for many of its resellers. 

European Union greenlights multi-orbit constellation

The European Union has approved its multi-orbit, €6 billion constellation plan, which includes GEO, MEO, and LEO arrays, and will offer connectivity to all EU citizens. The project will support EU connectivity priorities including the economy, environment, security and defense, and is hoping to launch in 2024, and be fully operational by 2027.

HughesNet aiming to launch Jupiter 3 array in Q2 2023

Incumbent satellite internet provider HughesNet has revealed its new Jupiter 3 array, which is designed to offer 500 Gbps over Ka-band and will allow HughesNet to provide consumers offerings of 50 Mbps and 100 Mbps. While the array still doesn’t have an official launch, the Jupiter 3 array is “doubling the size of the Hughes JUPITER fleet over North and South America.”

Ookla will continue monitoring new satellite internet developments

As 2023 continues to shape up as a pivotal year for satellite internet providers, we’ll be watching the sky to make sure providers are providing the connectivity consumers need. We’ll continue our series next quarter with Q1 and Q2 2023 data from Asia, Europe, Oceania, and any new countries where Starlink launches, and be back with Africa, North America, and South America data in Q4 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.

Editor’s note: This article was updated on May 10 with clarifying details and an updated chart.

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
| 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
| June 17, 2024

ISPs Driving Transformation in Broadband Performance Across the Caribbean

Global Speeds

ISPs in the Caribbean have helped drive a step-change in performance across the region over the past four years. Fiber is at the forefront of this change, helping drive performance gains in terms of throughput and latency in leading markets such as Trinidad and Tobago, Bermuda, and the Cayman Islands, while Starlink’s LEO service is gaining a foothold in a number of islands too. Outside the leading Caribbean markets, performance varies significantly, but even among those lagging the regional average are advancing rapidly.

Key takeaways

  • Growing availability of faster broadband across the Caribbean. The last four years have seen a transformation in broadband performance in the Caribbean. Across the markets in this analysis, network Consistency – the share of Speedtest samples exceeding a threshold of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload – increased from 45.3% in Q1 2020, to 73.3% as of Q1 2024.
  • Fiber adoption driving performance gains. Trinidad and Tobago, Bermuda, and the Cayman Islands led the Caribbean region on fixed broadband performance, recording median download speeds of 110.26 Mbps, 109.79 Mbps, and 104.88 Mbps, respectively during Q1 2024. Strong fiber performance from a number of ISPs, including Digicel+ (across a range of markets), Amplia (Trinidad and Tobago), as well as Flow, Logic, and C3 Pure Fiber (Cayman Islands), helped drive this, with all recording median download speeds approaching or above 100 Mbps.
  • Latency performance varies hugely across the Caribbean. Key for real-time applications such as online gaming and video calling, latency performance varied significantly across the region. Thanks to the availability of fiber to most broadband users, markets such as Trinidad and Tobago hit median latency lows of just 15 ms in Q1 2024, while at the other end of the scale, markets such as Aruba and Haiti struggled with median latency approaching 100 ms.
  • Markets behind the curve are quickly catching up. The majority of Caribbean markets currently below the regional average for fixed network Consistency are catching up fast, led by markets such as the Dominican Republic, Sint Maarten, and the British Virgin Islands, which all increased network Consistency by more than 25 percentage points over the last two years. 

Fixed network performance varies dramatically across the Caribbean

Ookla Speedtest Intelligence® data shows a wide disparity in median fixed broadband performance across Caribbean markets, ranging from lows of 2.72 Mbps and 25.21 Mbps in Cuba and Sint Maarten respectively, to highs of 110.26 Mbps and 109.79 Mbps in Trinidad and Tobago, and Bermuda respectively. Median upload performance mimicked this trend, with a low of 1.02 Mbps for Cuba and a high of 89.15 Mbps in the Cayman Islands.

Fixed Broadband Performance Across Caribbean Markets
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2024

Latency performance showed even greater variance, with some markets being able to access high-speed international links, and with others relying on multiple hops of undersea cables. Eight of the markets we examined recorded median multi-server latency below 50ms, with Trinidad and Tobago leading with 15ms, followed closely by Curaçao with 16ms. At the other end of the scale, a cluster of nine markets recorded latency ranging from 71 ms to 95 ms, while Cuba was the only market with median latency greater than 100 ms, recording 133 ms in Q1 2024. This marks an improvement year-on-year, down from 164 ms in Q1 2023, with the Arimao submarine cable (connecting Cuba to Martinique), helping drive some improvement, however, the island’s aging telecoms infrastructure continues to hold it back.

Fiber is the natural next step for many Caribbean ISPs

A number of Caribbean ISPs, led by groups such as Digicel, are transitioning to fiber access across their fixed operations. The transition from legacy broadband access technology to more modern, faster connections such as fiber takes time. In addition to network rollout and the significant public works this entails, operators and regulators need to ensure users are given enough incentive and education on the benefits of technologies such as fiber, in order to help drive adoption. Digicel+ in Bermuda stands out as a clear leader in the region on median download performance, followed by Digicel+ in Trinidad and Tobago. Beyond Digicel+, Logic, and C3 Pure Fiber in the Cayman Islands, and Amplia in Trinidad and Tobago all offered median download speeds approaching 100 Mbps. 

ISP Fiber Performance, Caribbean Markets
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2024

Drive for broadband expansion puts leading Caribbean markets on par with the U.S. and Canada

Caribbean ISPs have made great strides in advancing the rollout of broadband services over the last four years. Ookla uses the network Consistency metric to gauge how prevalent acceptable broadband speeds are across a network, based on the percentage of Speedtest samples exceeding a threshold of 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload performance. Cuba was rooted to the foot of the table based on Consistency, with just 4.0% of samples exceeding the threshold. Of the remaining Caribbean markets in this analysis, network Consistency climbed from 45.3% in Q1 2020 to 73.3% in Q1 2024.

The majority of Caribbean nations in this analysis recorded Consistency above 70% as of Q1 2024, with leading Caribbean nations such as Bermuda, Trinidad and Tobago, the Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, and Barbados posting Consistency values approaching those of more advanced fixed markets in the Americas, such as the U.S. (89.8%) and Canada (88.7%).

Fixed Broadband Consistency Across Caribbean Markets
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2024

This positive trajectory looks set to continue for many markets at the lower end of the scale too, as they look to catch up with their peers. The vast majority of those Caribbean markets recording less than 75% Consistency in Q1 2024, had increased their Consistency significantly over the past two years, led by Haiti, Sint Maarten, the British Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic.

Change in Fixed Network Consistency, Select Caribbean Markets
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2022 vs Q1 2024

Leading Caribbean markets face slowing Consistency growth and competition from non-traditional fixed ISPs

We see a mixed picture for leading Caribbean nations on further increases in network Consistency as they begin to approach other leading markets globally. Despite strong fixed broadband performance in many Caribbean markets, increases in network Consistency have been relatively static in some, including Bermuda, Aruba, and Grenada, which all saw network Consistency increase by less than 3 percentage points in the last two years. This indicates a tranche of users in these markets remain below the 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload performance thresholds used in our measure of Consistency.

While growth will naturally slow as markets approach nationwide availability of fixed broadband services exceeding 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload, operators in these markets need to zero in on locations where performance lags the rest of the market and identify root causes. For regulators, the priority may lie in encouraging the sunsetting of legacy fixed technologies, and facilitating the rollout and adoption of faster technologies such as fiber.

Change in Fixed Network Consistency, Leading Caribbean Markets
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2022 vs Q1 2024

LEO satellite broadband is emerging as a viable home broadband alternative

We are beginning to see some alternative fixed broadband technologies make inroads within the Caribbean, following on the heels of their success in North America. While we see some instances of GEO and MEO satellite internet use across the Caribbean, the majority of satellite internet within the region, based on Speedtest samples, is from Starlink’s LEO service. Over the course of the last year (comparing Q1 2024 with Q1 2023), samples from Starlink among the markets in this analysis grew by 85.8%, and it continues to expand its service availability across Caribbean markets. According to its website, Starlink operates across a range of Caribbean markets, and of those included in this analysis, it is available in the Bahamas, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Starlink performed on par with, or faster than, the median download speed in each market it operated within, recording significant leads in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Bahamas. However, Starlink does tend to lag the rest of the market on upload speeds and latency. While the cost of Starlink equipment and its subscriptions are often higher than for terrestrial broadband options, which will put it out of reach of some broadband users, it offers a viable alternative, especially in locations where legacy fixed broadband access is still prevalent, and where users prefer faster download performance.

Starlink Performance, Median Download Speed, Mbps
Speedtest Intelligence® | Q1 2024

With a range of cellular providers launching 5G across the Caribbean, we may begin to see 5G fixed-wireless (FWA) access begin to take root, as it has done in the U.S. Given the wide range of performance across the Caribbean, 5G FWA could offer users an uplift in speeds versus traditional fixed networks, and it will give cellular providers the opportunity to upsell home internet services to their existing mobile customer bases. While it’s still early days for these rival technologies, we’ll continue to monitor their progress and provide updates on the state of fixed broadband connectivity across the Caribbean. For more information about Ookla’s 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.

Global Speeds
U.S. Virgin Islands
Bermuda
Aruba
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Curacao
Sint Maarten

About the Author

Mark Giles