{"id":58799,"date":"2014-05-21T08:48:08","date_gmt":"2014-05-21T13:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=58799"},"modified":"2014-05-21T08:48:08","modified_gmt":"2014-05-21T13:48:08","slug":"snapshot-actual-internet-upload-download-speeds-caribbean-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2014\/05\/snapshot-actual-internet-upload-download-speeds-caribbean-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Snapshot: actual Internet upload and download speeds from across the Caribbean 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever wondered what Internet speeds might actually be experienced in the Caribbean? This new Snapshot examines household Internet upload and download speeds in 25 countries across the region.<\/em><\/p>\n

In our earlier Snapshot<\/a>, we examined residential Internet plans and their corresponding prices across the Caribbean. Typically, the advertised speed of those plans is rarely or consistently achieved, since infrastructure and bandwidth are shared. Hence although a customer might be paying for a plan with an advertised download speed of 4\u00a0Megabits per second (Mbps), the actual broadband speeds experienced might be around 1.5\u20142.5\u00a0Mbps, depending on the traffic on the network.<\/p>\n

In this a new Snapshot, we are exploring what might be actual (real life) upload and download speeds in the Caribbean. We also consider the results in relation to global averages in order determine how individual countries, and the region as a whole, are performing.<\/p>\n

Methodology<\/h3>\n

The data for this assessment was drawn from Internet uploads and download speed tests conducted by Ookla<\/a>, a recognised provider of broadband testing and web-based network diagnostic applications. One of its most popular services is Speedtest.net<\/a>, through which a range of network speed tests can be performed.<\/p>\n

Using the results of those tests, Ookla is able to continuously track Internet speeds and performance globally. It has formulated two indices \u2013 a Household Upload Index and a Household Download Index \u2013 which compares and ranks consumer upload and download speeds worldwide, and represents them as a rolling mean speed in Mbps over the past 30 days. The firm boasts being able to create those indices having access to five million tests daily, 350 million users annually, and 2,600 testing servers worldwide (Source: Ookla<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The results provided in the following sections, were recorded as of 20 May 2014, and again, are the averaged upload and download speeds over 30 days. Ookla provided indices for 192 countries, which were ranked by speed. We present results for the 28 countries across Caribbean listed in Table 1.<\/p>\n

\"Table

Table 1: List of countries examined for Household upload and download indexes (ICT Pulse)<\/p><\/div>\n

Internet upload speeds across the region<\/h3>\n

Across the 28 Caribbean countries examined, Internet upload speeds varied considerably as shown in Figure 1. The fastest upload speeds were recorded in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, at 11.68 Mbps. It was followed by St. Martin at 6.87 Mbps, and the Bahamas at 6.36 Mbps. On the other hand, the slowest upload speeds were recorded in Martinique, at 0.86 Mbps, followed by Cuba, at 0.88 Mbps, and Guadeloupe, at 0.91 Mbps. The average household upload speed across that group of countries is 2.87\u00a0Mbps<\/p>\n

\"Figure

Figure 1: Mean household Internet upload speeds in select Caribbean countries as of 20 May 2014 (Source: Ookla)<\/p><\/div>\n

Placing the Caribbean\u2019s performance in a global context, the top three ranked countries worldwide, in terms of household Internet upload speeds, were Hong Kong (66.44 Mbps); Singapore (54.39 Mbps); and Andorra (46.03 Mbps). The global average was 8.12\u00a0Mbps. Additionally, the average upload speed among the following country grouping was as follows:<\/p>\n