Here’s a quick quiz: Which of these countries do you think has the fastest average broadband speeds?
- Romania
- South Korea
- Hungary
- United States
If you guessed the U.S., you’re wrong. In fact, the U.S. didn’t even make the top 10 list for countries with the fastest average internet connection in the world. For the past several years, the U.S. ranked in the top 10 (from 8 to 10), according to studies done by Decision Data. This year, the U.S. fell to number 11.
Global internet speed averages continue to grow around the world.
SOURCE: Decision Data
The U.S. average broadband speed is 124.1 Mbps.
World Record Internet Speed Achieved
Even though Australia didn’t even make the top 25, researchers there recently recorded the fastest internet speed of all time. They recently hit a speed of 44.2 terabits per second – more than a million times faster than current speeds in the country. That speed would allow a user to download 1,000 HD movies in just one second, according to the Independent.
It used something called a mico-comb optical chip that held hundreds of infrared lasers to transfer data. One of the exciting parts is that it used the existing infrastructure in the country – meaning this tech might be able to dramatically increase speeds without having to rebuild infrastructure.
Researchers say they expect further testing taking 2-3 years with commercial use within the next five years.