The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20120502094323/http://www.news.com.au/technology/state-of-the-internet-reports-reveals-internet-speeds-around-the-world/story-e6frfro0-1226344876391
Last updated: May 02, 2012

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'State of the Internet' report reveals the fastest web speeds around the world

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Aussies have an average internet speed of 4.9mbps, according to the report. Source: Supplied

  • Australia ranks just 24th in the world
  • Latvia and Slovakia have faster internet
  • South Korea comes out on top

LATVIANS and Slovaks have faster internet speeds than the average Australian, according to a global report on web usage.

As the country awaits the full roll-out of the National Broadband Network, Australia ranks just 24th in the world on average speeds, the annual State of the Internet report says.

And in the “Top Global Cities” category, Canberra came in at 78th place, with speeds on par with the Latvian capital Riga, formerly behind the Iron Curtain.

Overall Australia has an average connection speed of 4.9mbps, while small central European countries like Slovakia and Romania boast speeds of 5.2mbps and 6.4mbps respectively.

State of the internet

State of the internet
Figures from the State of the Internet report. Picture: Courtesy of Akamai
Source: news.com.au

The findings were based on the fourth quarter of 2011 and featured more than 628 million IP addresses from 236 countries and regions connected to the Akamai cloud platform.

Most of the fastest cities in the world were in the Asia Pacific region, with South Koreans coming in top with average speeds of 17.5mbps. Japan and Hong Kong are next, both offering 9.1mbps.

The report said the average internet speed around the world was 2.3mbps, down about 14 per cent from the previous quarter. However, Australia’s average speed increased to 37 per cent.

China became the number one country responsible for cyber attacks, ahead of the US and Indonesia.

More than 3.5 million Australian homes will be included in the first roll out of the NBN, which will happen over the next three years.

Construction of the fibre optic cable section of the network will be underway or completed in areas containing 3.5 million homes and businesses in 1500 towns and suburbs across Australia.

Ninety per cent of Australia can expect speeds of up to 100mbps, while the rest will have access to a mix of wireless and satellite connections.

Countries with the fastest average internet speed

State of the internet

State of the internet
The countries with the fastest internet speeds according to the State of the Internet report.
Source: news.com.au

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