Press Release
Akamai Technologies, the global leader in content delivery network (CDN) services, today released its First Quarter, 2016 State of the Internet Report. Based on data gathered from the Akamai Intelligent Platform™, the report provides insight into key global statistics such as connection speeds, broadband adoption metrics, notable Internet disruptions, IPv4 exhaustion and IPv6 implementation.
Data and graphics from the First Quarter, 2016 State of the Internet Report can be found on the Akamai State of the Internet site and through the Akamai State of the Internet app for iOS and Android devices. State of the Internet Report-related discussions are also taking place on the Akamai Community.“Live sports will be at the forefront this summer as we prepare for the games in Brazil, with expectations that this year’s events will be watched by more online viewers than ever,” said David Belson, editor of the State of the Internet Report. “Global connection speeds have more than doubled since the summer of 2012, which can help support higher quality video streaming for bigger audiences across even more connected devices and platforms.”
European Highlights from Akamai’s First Quarter, 2016 State of the Internet Report:
Average and Peak Connection Speeds: Positive growth trends continue for European countries
• Global average connection speed increased 12% from the fourth quarter of 2015 to 6.3 Mbps, a 23% increase year-over-year.
• South Korea had the top average connection speed at 29.0 Mbps, followed by Norway (21.3 Mbps) and Sweden (20.6 Mbps). This quarter, five other European countries appeared in the global top 10 country/region list; Switzerland (18.7 Mbps), Latvia (18.3 Mbps), the Netherlands (17.9 Mbps), Czech Republic (17.8 Mbps) and Finland (17.7 Mbps).
• Year-over-year changes in average connection speeds were positive for all European countries surveyed, with the exception of Ireland, which saw a 14% decline to 14.4 Mbps. The remaining countries all enjoyed double-digit yearly gains, with Norway once again achieving the biggest increase at 68%.
• Global average peak connection speed increased 6.8% to 34.7 Mbps in the first quarter, rising 14% year over year.
• Romania again led the European region in average peak connection speeds in the first quarter of 2016, with a 12% quarterly increase to 82.4 Mbps. Year-over-year changes were positive across the board for the surveyed European countries in the first quarter with very few exceptions. Norway had the largest gain, with an increase of 47% over the previous year, while Ireland had the smallest, with a gain of 2.7%.
• In total, 25 of the 31 European countries surveyed achieved average peak connection speeds of at least 50 Mbps.
Broadband Connectivity: European countries at the forefront of 25 Mbps adoption
• Global 10 Mbps, 15 Mbps and 25 Mbps adoption grew significantly in the first quarter of 2016, posting gains of 10%, 14% and 19% at each threshold.
• In the first quarter of 2016, Malta and Bulgaria led the European region in 4 Mbps broadband adoption, with 97% of their IPv4 addresses connecting to Akamai at average speeds at or above the threshold.
• Switzerland edged out the Netherlands to regain the top spot in the 10 Mbps broadband adoption among surveyed European countries in the first quarter of 2016, with an adoption rate of 68%. All 31 surveyed European countries posted yearly gains in the first quarter as well. Four countries – led by Cyprus and Croatia with increases of 297% and 274% respectively – saw adoption rates more than double compared with the first quarter of 2015.
• In Europe, Norway held onto the top position in 15 Mbps broadband adoption, with 50% of its IPv4 addresses connecting to Akamai at average speeds at or above the threshold, up 12% from the fourth quarter of 2015. Year-over-year changes were positive across all European countries surveyed, with Croatia posting an impressive 233% gain over the first quarter of 2015.
• European countries again dominated the global top 10 country/region listing for 25 Mbps adoption, with Norway (ranked #2), Sweden (#3), Latvia (#5), Finland (#7), Switzerland (#8), Denmark (#9) and the Netherlands (#10). In addition, Norway and Denmark posted robust year-on-year gains of 186% and 170% respectively.
IPv4 and IPv6: Belgium continues to lead the world in IPv6 adoption
• Globally, the number of unique IPv4 addresses connecting to the Akamai Intelligent Platform declined 0.2% to 808 million. In the top 10 country/region listing, France (#7) bucked this trend to post the largest quarter-over-quarter gain observed at 2.5%.
• Belgium remained the clear global leader in IPv6 adoption with 36% of its connections to Akamai occurring over IPv6, down 3.1% from the previous quarter. Five other European countries made an appearance in the top 10 country/region listing for IPv6 adoption; Greece (#2), Switzerland (#3), Germany (#4), Portugal (#5) and France (#9). Following its tremendous 113% increase in the previous quarter, France posted a 12% drop in its IPv6 adoption rate in the first quarter of 2016.
Mobile Connectivity: United Kingdom has highest average mobile connection speed
• In the first quarter of 2016, the United Kingdom once again had the world’s fastest average mobile connection speed at 27.9 Mbps, while Belgium came in second place at 19.4 Mbps; about 70% as fast as the United Kingdom.
UK Specific Highlights:
• In the first quarter of 2016, the United Kingdom once again had the world’s fastest average mobile connection speed at 27.9 Mbps.
• 91% of Broadband Adoption was measured at >4Mbps in the UK. A YoY increase of 7.5%.
• 36% of Broadband Adoption was measured as above 15Mbps, a 49% YoY increase, placing the UK 16th globally.
• 53% of Broadband Adoption as seen by Akamai was >10Mbps, a 30% YoY increase.
• IPv4 Average Connection Speed has risen 29% YoY to 14.9Mbps (Global ranking – 19th)
• IPv4 Average Peak Connection Speed has hit 61Mbps, an 18% YoY change and 7.4% QoQ (28th place globally).
• The UK does not feature in the top 10 for IPv6 traffic in the quarter. However, network provider Sky, does feature in the top 20 global network providers with 12% of traffic requests on IPv6 (16th place).
