The Internet is growing by the day while at the same time, connection speeds are climbing. As of the first quarter, the total number of unique IPv4 addresses pinging the web hit 734 million, or about 34 million more than during the previous quarter according to the latest State of the Internet report from Akamai.
As outlined in the report, the average connection to the web increased in speed by four percent to reach a worldwide average of 3.1Mbps. That's good for a 17 percent increase year-over-year and marks the first time the global average has surpassed the 3Mbps mark.
Akamai noted that 123 countries / regions experienced an increase in connection speed compared to the same time last year while 117 areas reported a connection speed boost during the previous quarter.
The global peak speed on average was 18.4Mbps, we're told. When looking at individual nations, South Korea proved fastest with an average speed of 14.2Mbps which is to be expected as half of the country's citizens subscribe to high-speed Internet. Hong Kong earned the highest peak average at 63.6Mbps, however.
David Belson of Akamai said in a statement that this quarter's report shows continued positive growth in terms of Internet and broadband adoption worldwide. He said they have seen overall increases in average and peak connection speeds along with greater broadband penetration on both a quarterly and annual basis.
The US finished in ninth place with an average connection speed of 8.6Mbps, good for a 13 percent increase compared to last quarter and 17 percent from the year ago quarter.