In July 2024, UK telecoms provider, Cable, published the average broadband Internet download speeds for over 200 countries worldwide. The results for 31 Caribbean countries were included, which we discuss.
On 16 July 2024, United Kingdom triple-play telecoms service provider, Cable, published the results of a global broadband speed assessment, which featured 229 countries, including 31 from the Caribbean/Caribbean Community (CARICOM) region. The download speed tests were recorded over a 12-month period, ending 30 June 2024, and the results continue to be 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 2024, 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 1.5 billion broadband speed tests conducted across 229 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 2024 assessment, 3` 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 over 1.38 million speed tests that occurred between 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024.
In the sections that follow, we
- present the mean broadband speeds recorded for Caribbean countries over a 12-month period, ending 30 June 2024; and
- briefly compare the 2023 results with those recorded in 2024, and thereafter
- discuss the results.
2024 test results for the Caribbean region
For the Caribbean countries examined, typical download speeds ranged from a low of 4.49 Mbps in Cuba, to 118.83 Mbps in the Cayman Islands, as reflected in Exhibit 2. Across the region, the average download speed was 54.94 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 118.54 Mbps, and Barbados, with 97.27 Mbps. At the other end of the spectrum, and in addition to Cuba, were Haiti and Suriname, with an average download speed of 13.21 Mbps and 13.79 Mbps, respectively.
Comparing the 2023 and 2024 test results
In comparing the speed test results recorded in 2023 and 2024, several countries did not experience an increase in their mean download speeds, as reflected in Figure 3. Although the decrease may have been marginal, except in Dominica and Sint Maarten, overall and averaged across the countries examined, the mean download speeds increased over the 12-month period under review. Since 2023, the mean download speed averaged across the sample group increased by nearly 15%%, or just nearly 7 Mbps, from the average regional speed of 47.95 Mbps in 2023.
Quantifying the per-country change in the mean download speeds recorded in 2023 and 2024 as a percentage, see Exhibit 4, the smallest increase in download speed was recorded in Barbados, at 4.04%, which was followed by the Turks and Caicos Islands, at 5.08%, and Belize, at 7.36%. At the other end of the spectrum, the greatest increase in download speed was recorded in Saint Vincent and Grenadines, at 225.77%, which was followed by the Dominican Republic, at 146.68%, and Anguilla, at 68.86%.
On the other hand, seven countries recorded a decrease in mean download speeds over the periods under review. Sint Maarten recorded the greatest decrease, by 58.18%, from 43.44 Mbps in 2023 to 18.17 Mbps in 2024. The second largest decrease was recorded in Dominica by 27.68%, from 66.24 Mbps in 2023 to 47.90 Mbps in 2024., and the third in line is Guyana, which recorded a 9.16% decrease, from 31.45Mbps to 28.57 Mbps.
A brief review of the results
Generally, and as previously noted, between 2023 and 2024 the mean broadband Internet speed across the Caribbean sample of countries increased, but nearly a quarter of the countries examined recorded a decrease in their mean broadband Internet speed. This decrease is worrying, as it may be due to service quality issues, such as network congestion and service instability, rather than a lowering of the broadband speeds available in the internet service plans offered.
Once again, The Cable, highlighted that “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 provides some insight into the mean download speeds globally and how Caribbean countries compare.
Image credit: Uswitch.com Images (flickr)
