Why COVID Increased The Gap Between Fixed And Wireless Internet

According to a speed test analysis released by WhistleOut, the average US internet speed increased 40 percent during the pandemic to 118.4 Mbps, versus an average of 84.5 Mbps pre-pandemic. The report, which is based on more than 717,000 internet speed tests, doesn’t explain exactly why the fixed internet became so much swifter, but it cites the fact that many US households upgraded their plans with their internet service providers, presumably to accommodate all that video streaming, those Zoom meetings, and other lifestyle changes necessitated by working and living at home 24/7. Whatever the reason, the fixed internet experience grew proportionately better than the wireless one by at least one measure, the ability to download content and applications. According to the most recent data from Speedtest by Ookla, the average mobile internet download speed in the US currently is about 54.4 Mbps, or less than half the fixed internet’s. Why is this important? Because while the average mobile user probably doesn’t see much difference in the quality of most mobile applications and content, there are future bandwidth-hungry applications that will depend on an increased download speed.

[Joe Mandese is the Editor in Chief of MediaPost.]