Ookla

Affordable, reliable, high-speed broadband is considered a necessity in the U.S.

To gain insight into the current performance of networks, we analyzed Speedtest® data in Q3 2023. Our analysis compares changes in 5G performance to the previous year, identifies the top 10 countries with the best performance, and discusses customer satisfaction with 5G. We also ranked countries based on the performance of their fixed networks and investigated the connectivity gap across the world. Key takeways:

The telecommunications industry continues to watch SpaceX Starlink’s expansion and performance closely, as the number of subscribers to its broadband service grows and other satellite providers enter the fray. While median download performance remains a key benchmark, we see strong demand to understand how Starlink is balancing net new additions with its network capacity as the service scales, and how LEO Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) performance stacks up against the competition, particularly in rural locations. Key takeaways include:

Ookla's Speedtest released its Global Index for the third quarter of 2023. The United States ranked 15th in mobile global performance and 6th for fixed broadband. Fierce reported T-Mobile was in first place in the U.S. with a median 5G download speed of 221.57 Mbps. This slightly increased from the second quarter of 2023, when T-Mobile’s median 5G download speed was 220 Mbps.

Ookla's Market Reports identify key data about internet performance in countries across the world. In the United States in second quarter 2023, T-Mobile was the fastest mobile operator with a median download speed of 164.76 Megabits per second (Mbps). T-Mobile also had the fastest median 5G download speed at 220.00 Mbps, and lowest 5G multi-server latency of 51 milliseconds (ms). Spectrum edged out Cox as the fastest fixed broadband provider with a median download speed of 243.02 Mbps. Verizon had the lowest median multi-server latency on fixed broadband at 15 ms.

Satellite internet competition is heating up and Ookla has fresh data from Q4 2022 and Q1 2023 for HughesNet, SpaceX’s Starlink, and Viasat in North America, South America, and the Caribbean, as well as new Starlink markets. One finding is that Starlink users in metro and nonmetro areas love Starlink, while fixed broadband users dislike their internet service providers.