Users of wireless carriers in the United States are currently enjoying speeds on mobile devices which are the fastest they have ever been following network improvements which have come at a faster pace than increased use. This was according to a report prepared by Ookla, a testing firm and maker of popular app, Speedtest.
During the first six months of this calendar year, average download speeds on mobile networks in the United States were 22.7 Mbps. This was 19% faster compared to a similar period last year. The average upload speeds were 8.5 Mbps and this was improvement of 4%.
Global ranking
Compared to other parts of the world, however, the network speeds of wireless carriers in the U.S. were slower than dozens of other countries. With regards to upload speeds the United States was in the 65th position globally. The world’s biggest economy managed a better position with regards to download speeds as it came in at position 44.
The Ookla report also indicated that there was a decline in speeds in the first three months of the year and this was attributed to the proliferation of unlimited data offerings which prompted users to download more video and music. This was especially so with V Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ).
“Verizon has been able to maintain solid performance in areas of high traffic, though a drop in performance has been seen since Verizon launched unlimited,” said the Ookla report.
Big four
Among the major wireless carriers T-Mobile was ranked as having the fastest average speeds across the country as users enjoyed 23.2 Mbps. Verizon came in second place with average speeds of 21.2 Mbps while AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) was third with average speeds of 20.1 Mbps. Sprint Corp (NYSE:S) was in the fourth position as users enjoyed average speeds of 15.4 Mbps.
Despite the fact that Sprint was ranked fourth among the big four, it had vastly improved compared to last year as the speed on its network had increased by 24% in the first half of 2017 compared to a similar period in 2016.
On Friday shares of Verizon Communications fell by 0.16% to close the day at $46.11.
