Akamai: U.S. Broadband Connectivity Plateau?

US broadband connectivity rates showed virtually no change between the first and second quarter of 2013, according to the latest Akamai State of the Internet Report.

The average US broadband connection speed was 8.7 Mbps in the second quarter, Akamai said. That’s virtually unchanged from first quarter when the average speed was 8.6 Mbps. The percentage of US broadband users connecting at speeds above 10 Mbps also was virtually unchanged, measuring 24% compared with 25% in first quarter, when it saw a 14% jump from the previous quarter. Akamai also found relatively small changes when it looked at the data on a state-by-state basis. The District of Columbia had the highest average connection speed in second quarter. But its average connection rate of 11.4 Mbps was lower than that of the top state from first quarter. In first quarter, Vermont had the highest average connection rate, which measured 12.7 Mbps.