A new study from Ookla, the Seattle-based provider of the popular Speedtest application, ranks Colorado as the 14th fastest state when it comes to average download speeds on fixed broadband. Colorado speeds clocked in at 104.63 Mbps, sandwiched between Utah and Virginia.
Just don’t ask about upload speeds. The state’s results were middling at best, averaging 26.8 Mbps.
“On average, U.S. consumers should have few complaints about recent increases in Internet speeds. However, Ookla research shows that those speeds vary widely depending on location and provider,” according to the study.
New Jersey had the fastest download speeds of any state at 121.45 Mbps and a strong 56.5 Mbps for upload, double Colorado’s. Other speedy states making the top five included Massachusetts, Maryland, Delaware and Hawaii.
By contrast, Maine had the slowest download speeds of any state at 50.64 Mbps and upload speeds at a glacial 9.96 Mbps. New Jersey speeds were 140 percent faster than those found in Maine. The Rocky Mountain region was home to the next three slowest states, all under 60 Mbps for downloads — Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.
The study also looked at fixed broadband speeds in the biggest cities. Denver’s average download speed came in at 104.05 Mbps, while Colorado Springs had a slightly higher average download, 109.7 Mbps, and Aurora beat both at 127.99 Mbps. Average upload speeds in Denver, however, were double those of Aurora and Colorado Springs.
Xfinity was the fastest provider in all three Colorado cities. But Kansas City, Mo., hardly a tech hub, made Denver look like it was sauntering. Its average download speeds clocked in at 159.2 Mbps. The difference — Kansas City has Google Fiber. Denver does not.
Fixed broadband continues to provide much faster speeds than cellular providers, who are looking to leapfrog over their rivals with the introduction of 5G, a much faster wireless technology.
The study found that fixed broadband speeds nationally are rapidly ramping up, which leaves some areas at risk of falling behind.
The test results show a 35.8-percent increase in download speed nationally compared to last year and a 22-percent increase in upload speed. The U.S. ranks seventh between Hungary and Switzerland for download speeds and 27th for upload speeds, behind Bulgaria.
The Ookla study is based on samples from 115.4 million speed tests run by nearly 24.3 million unique users during the second and third quarters.
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