A Comparative Analysis of Fixed Broadband Speeds in Cities Across the World

This report by George Ford at the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies compares fixed broadband speeds in US cities to speeds in cities in other, higher-income nations. The data include fixed broadband speeds for 4,480 cities across the globe (910 in the US) from 98 nations. Across multiple comparisons, the report finds that the US has equal or higher download speeds—often much higher—than do other comparator countries. Of the 98 countries in the sample, average speeds in the US are in the top 5 percent of all countries’ average download speeds, and in the top third of upload speeds. But even this lower ranking in upload speeds is unconcerning because upload speed differences are typically small. In any event, since average download speed exceeds 200 Mbps and upload speeds in the US exceed 65 Mbps, claims that the “Internet in the United States is far slower than most other advanced countries” are false.