In August 2023, UK telecoms provider, Cable, published the average broadband Internet download speeds for over 200 countries worldwide. The results for 30 Caribbean countries were included, which we discuss.
On 1 August, United Kingdom triple-play telecoms service provider, Cable, published the results of a global broadband speed assessment, which featured 220 countries, including 30 from the Caribbean/Caribbean Community (CARICOM) region. The download speed tests were recorded over a 12-month period, ending 30 June 2023, and the results are currently the most comprehensive data set that is publicly available.
Methodology
Similar to previous years, and over a period of 12 months up to 30 June 2023, Cable collated broadband speed test data from several sources, including regulators and speed test providers that conduct and track broadband speed test results. Over the review period, the results of over 1.2 billion broadband speed tests conducted across 220 countries were compiled and analysed.
Similar to previous exercises, the download speeds recorded are those available to a device via a router, and so represent actual (or realistic) speeds experienced by the user – via Wi-Fi, Ethernet connection, or other means. For each country, download speed tests had to be recorded from at least 100 unique Internet Protocol addresses. Additionally, test results were excluded if, among other things, the speed test exercises were unduly long or short, or congestion had been caused by the client device for more than 20% of the test duration (Source: Cable).
We again have extracted the test results for the Caribbean countries included in the global league tables. In the 2023 assessment, 30 Caribbean countries and/or island groups were again included, as reflected in Exhibit 1.
Across this group of Caribbean countries, the results were collated from 1,128,947 speed tests that occurred between 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023, from 253,012 unique IP (Internet Protocol) addresses.
In the sections that follow, we
- present the mean broadband speeds recorded for Caribbean countries over a 12-month period, ending 30 June 2023; and
- briefly compare the 2023 results with those recorded in 2022, and thereafter
- discuss the results.
2023 test results for the Caribbean region
For the Caribbean countries examined, typical download speeds ranged from a low of 4.14 Mbps in Cuba, to 125.08 Mbps in the Cayman Islands, as reflected in Exhibit 2. Across the region, the average download speed was 47.95 Mbps.
Among the countries with the fastest download speeds and in addition to the Cayman Islands, were Puerto Rico, with an average download speed of 96.65 Mbps, and Barbados, with 93.50 Mbps. At the other end of the spectrum, and in addition to Cuba, were Haiti and Suriname, with an average download speed of 10.75 Mbps and 12.48 Mbps, respectively.
Comparing the 2023 and 2022 test results
In comparing the speed test results recorded in 2023 and in 2022, overall, the mean download speeds increased over the 12-month period under review, as shown in Exhibit 3. Since 2022, the mean download speed averaged across the sample group increased by 58%, or just nearly 18 Mbps, from the average regional speed of 30.43 Mbps in 2022.
Exhibit 4 shows the change in the per-country mean download speeds recorded in 2022 and 2023 as a percentage. The smallest increase in download speed was recorded in Saint Martin, at 8.86%, which was followed by Haiti, at 12.71%, and Aruba, at 12.46%. At the other end of the spectrum, the greatest increase in download speed was recorded in Dominica, at 228.23%, which was followed by Saint Kitts and Nevis, at 169.34% and the British Virgin Islands, at 153.68%.
Only two countries recorded a decrease in mean download speeds over the periods under review. Belize recorded a 7.66% decrease, from 42.08 Mbps in 2022, to 38.86 Mbps in 2023. Bonaire recorded a 3.07% decrease, from 27.10 Mbps in 2022, to 26.27 Mbps in 2023.
A brief discussion of the results
Generally, between 2022 and 2023 the mean broadband Internet speed across the Caribbean sample of countries increased. However, this increase may not necessarily and solely reflect bandwidth upgrades by the telcos, but could also be due to less congestion on certain parts of the network with school closures and work-from-home restrictions being lifted across the region. Nevertheless, service quality issues still seem to be high across the region, with service unavailability and service instability being frequent complaints.
It is also instructive to note that more Caribbean countries, six to be exact, have been ranked in the top 50 worldwide, and 21 Caribbean countries out of the 30-country sample group are in the top half of the ranking. Those in the top 50 are: the Cayman Islands (17th); Puerto Rico(29th); Barbados (35th); Grenada (45th); Aruba (47th); and the United States Virgin Islands (49th).
Finally, as highlighted by Cable, “Speed test data tend to show a negativity bias”, as individuals are more likely to run those tests when they are having connectivity challenges. As a result, the typical or mean download speeds users experience may be higher. Notwithstanding, this data offers us some insight into the mean download speeds globally and how Caribbean countries have been performing in that regard.
Image credit: Mathew Schwartz (Unsplash)
