FCC: Internet speeds tripled from 10 Mbps in March 2011 to an average of 31 Mbps in September 2014, but US still ranks only 25th out of 39 nations surveyed
U.S. says its Internet speeds triple in three-and-a-half years — U.S. Internet connection speeds have tripled over 3-1/2 years …
Context & Ripple Effects
The FCC's tripling figure lands on top of a measurement fight already underway. Months earlier, Akamai put average US connection speeds at just 11.7 Mbps and ranked the US 20th globally, with South Korea leading at 23.1 Mbps — so the commission's 31 Mbps average and its 25th-of-39 ranking describe the same uncomfortable pattern: fast absolute growth, mediocre relative standing.
What makes the report consequential is that it becomes a baseline other trackers immediately test against. Within months, [[a:872633|Speedtest's market report had US fixed broadband downloads at nearly 55 Mbps, up 42% year over year]], and Ookla's 2017 survey showed global averages climbing 30% annually — meaning every player now measures the same network and gets very different numbers.
First-order effects
- ISPs are handed a federal benchmark they can't fully claim credit for: speeds tripled under the commission's watch, yet the 25th-place finish lets regulators argue infrastructure investment still lags peer nations like South Korea.
Second-order effects
- Competing measurement firms — Akamai, Speedtest, Ookla — are forced into a de facto methodology contest over whose numbers define 'average speed,' since their figures diverge by multiples even within a single year.
Third-order effects
- If global growth keeps outpacing US gains — as Ookla's worldwide 30% annual increase suggests — the political argument shifts from celebrating absolute speed milestones to explaining persistent relative decline, making international rankings the recurring policy metric rather than domestic totals.
The trend: Broadband performance is becoming a contested-measurement story: as absolute speeds rise everywhere, the durable battleground is whose data defines national rankings.