Widespread use of Wi-Fi around the world now affects reporting of speed tests, which often are taken by devices that are connected by Wi-Fi. That results in lower measured speeds, compared to tests of the access connection to the router.
Methodology matters. A single speed test “is not a direct measure of the maximum speed available to a household router,” says M-Lab. It typically is the speed obtained by a single device connected using Wi-Fi, which normally means a lower speed than supplied to a device connected by a cable. So M-Lab says its own speed tests are best understood as the speeds end users actually experience on their devices, not the speed obtained by the router.
Also, speed test data usually has a negativity bias. People are more likely to test when they experience a problem. This also helps to explain why speed test averages are lower than people might expect.
That noted, speed tests seem to show that a number of smaller countries have been able to upgrade their networks faster than larger countries. That makes sense, as a practical matter. Since new networks have to be constructed, smaller areas can be upgraded faster than continent-sized areas, for example.
What the M-Lab tests do not show as well are the potential impacts of coming cable TV operator cable modem advances such as DOCSIS 4, which will, in principle, support speeds up to 10 Gbps. Nearly all the tests conducted by M-Labs use traditional telco connections, including fiber to home and other connections.
The United States shows up in spot 20 of nations or city state access speeds, using the M-Labs methodology.
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