An update of actual Internet download speeds for fixed Internet service in select Caribbean countries, which are compared with results presented in 2017.
As a follow-up to the exercise we conducted last year, we are again examining the actual Internet download speeds experienced in 10 Caribbean countries. Thereafter, we compare them with results recorded last year.
Methodology
Consistent with previous exercises, our source for the Internet speed data is Ookla, a recognised provider of broadband testing and web-based network diagnostic applications, which publishes global speed testresults once per month, based on the test results recorded during the previous month.
However, in order for upload and download speed results for a particular country to be published, a minimum number of unique data points must be recorded. For fixed broadband Internet, which the focus of our review, over 3,000 unique data points are required. As a result, only the following 10 Caribbean countries, out of the 135 countries listed, were included in the May 2018 fixed broadband Internet speed update:
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belize
- Curacao
- Dominican Republic
- Guyana
- Jamaica
- Puerto Rico
- Suriname
- Trinidad and Tobago.
It should be noted that Ookla also records mobile/cellular Internet transmission speeds, and published the results for five Caribbean countries: Belize, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Trinidad and Tobago. For the countries that were not included, it suggests that insufficient data points had been recorded.
How fast are the download speeds in Caribbean countries in 2018?
Based on the results for May, and as shown in Table 1, the fastest download speed was recorded in Barbados, at 64.71 Mbps, which – quite impressively – was also within the top 20 countries worldwide. Barbados, was followed by Trinidad and Tobago, and Puerto Rico, which had download speeds in excess of 30 Mbps.
Table 1: Actual Internet download speeds recorded in select Caribbean countries in May 2018 (Source: Ookla)
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the slowest download speed among the Caribbean countries listed, was recorded in Suriname. It was ranked 124 out of 135 countries, with a speed of 7.50 Mbps. Just above Suriname, are Guyana and Belize, both of which recorded download speeds of under 15 Mbps.
Have country download speeds improved since 2017?
It is ought to be noted that download speeds are also increasing globally – the top 10 countries are presented in Table 2. In May 2018, the average download speed of 170.99 Mbps was recorded in Singapore, which was an increase of nearly 17 Mbps from that recorded in July last year.
Table 2: Internet download speeds recorded in the top 10 ten countries globally in May 2018 (Source: Ookla)
Over the past year, and across all of Caribbean countries examined, download speeds recorded increased, as reflected in Figure 1. Interestingly, the country that recorded the greatest increase is Barbados – of about 20 Mbps – although in 2017, it already had the fastest download speeds among the group. On the other hand, the smallest improvement, at less than 1.5 Mbps, was recorded in the Dominican Republic.
Figure 1: Internet download speeds in select Caribbean countries in July 2017 and May 2018 (Source: Ookla)
Relative to the download speeds recorded in 2017, the greatest improvement in 2018 was in Belize, where the recorded download speed has doubled (see Figure 2). However, a less than 10% improvement was recorded in the Bahamas and Curaçao.
Figure 2: Changes in Internet download speeds in select Caribbean countries between July 2017 and May 2018 (Source: Ookla)
Averaged across the Caribbean countries examined, download speeds increased by around 33%, or approximately 6.1 Mbps, from 2017. However, few countries – only four – did not experience any improvement in their ranking in the global list:
- The Bahamas, which fell 7 places from 65 in 2017, to 72 in 2018
- Curaçao, which fell 9 places from 67 in 2017, to 76 in 2018
- Dominican Republic, which fell 4 places from 93 in 2017, to 97 in 2018
- Puerto Rico, which fell 5 places from 46 in 2017, to 51 in 2018.
Image credit: Timo Newton-Syms (flickr)
