Study: U.S. Internet Speeds Still Rank Low on Global Scale

Today, Akamai released its "State of the Internet" for the last quarter of 2012 and TechCrunch reports that though America has increased Internet speeds by 28 percent year-over-year, it still clocks in at 8th place overall.

Outclassed by Japan, Latvia, and Switzerland, among others, the U.S. has an average Internet speed of 7.4 mbps. The U.S. has some serious year-over-year jumps, but its paltry increase of 2.3 percent since the last quarter indicates that the country may be stabilizing a bit and not experiencing as big of a growth in speeds as once previously seen. However, roughly 19 percent of U.S. citizens experience Internet speeds above 10%, so there's hope that the country will catch up to its next fastest competitor, the Czech Republic.

While South Korea remains firmly in the top spot (roughly seven times faster than the average), TechCrunch notes that there's actually been a dip in the country's overall Internet speeds. Users currently browse at speeds that are 4.4 percent slower than last quarter, and 13 percent slower than 2011. South Korea is the only country in the top 10 to have a decrease in speeds, but others only received modest increases over the last quarter.

What do you think of the U.S.'s rank in Internet speed? Let us know in the comments.

Lauren Hockenson is a tech reporter and 8-bit enthusiast who dreams of being a wizard. She can be found on MyIGN at lhockenson or on Twitter at @lhockenson.

Source : ign[dot]com