U.S. average Internet speed is 22.6 Mbps? (source wanted)

[MicFid]

My basic Comcast connection is typically 11-12 Mbps (download) but this site claims it's "48% slower than the U.S. average (speed of) 22.6 Mbps."

 

Various articles conflict with that claim. Akamai, for example, listed the U.S. average speed as 16.3 Mbps in Q3 2016, which puts me at 3/4ths of the average, not 1/2. Peak speeds vs. averages may contribute to some confusion.

 

I don't mind being below other folk's speed, but I'd like to know where that "22.6 Mbps" figure comes from. Thanks.

https://testmy.net/compID/900831030804

[mudmanc4]

I'll make the hypothesis that there have recently been tests run which are above the average, where the results might be well above the average, and in a sense, skewing the averaged equation. But not really incorrect, considering the results would be one if not the most 'live' or up to the minute correct mean that can be found.

[MicFid]

15 minutes ago, mudmanc4 said:

I'll make the hypothesis that there have recently been tests run which are above the average, where the results might be well above the average, and in a sense, skewing the averaged equation. But not really incorrect, considering the results would be one if not the most 'live' or up to the minute correct mean that can be found.

 

Can you cite a specific source link? Part of the reason I ask this question is experience with setups where people are still grateful to get 1.5 Mbps, e.g. rural DSL. I don't see the need to rub higher speeds in their faces!

 

A search shows that Ookla may be the source of the 22.6 Mbps claim. Maybe they and this site are referencing average urban speeds, which should be qualified in that context.

[mudmanc4]

What type of source link are you looking for, my post was going on the assumption of my understanding of testmy.net calculations.

 

Where testmy.net will produce a more dynamic result, depending on current actual live averages, not urban or inner city, but averages per ISP, city , state, country ect.

 

We can get detailed results by starting here within the main database, and filter down to more granular results.

[MicFid]

4 hours ago, mudmanc4 said:

What type of source link are you looking for, my post was going on the assumption of my understanding of testmy.net calculations.

 

Where testmy.net will produce a more dynamic result, depending on current actual live averages, not urban or inner city, but averages per ISP, city , state, country ect.

 

We can get detailed results by starting here within the main database, and filter down to more granular results.

 

OK, I get it now. The data is coming from this site's user averages. I should have studied it more but it ought to be posted with that disclaimer.

[Sean]

As far as I'm aware of, TestMy calculates its averages based on all test results for a given host, city, region, etc.

 

Ookla's Speedtest awards are higher, but they only use the results from the fastest 10% of the test results:

 

 

So peak time congestion dips, line issues, etc. will not impact an ISP's "average" performance as long as at least 10% of customers were getting what they are paying for. So a fixed wireless ISP could rank pretty well even if over half the customers get a tiny fraction of what they are paying for, as long as 10% of the speed tests were conducted off-peak or by customers on rural lightly loaded cell towers.