Global broadband speeds on the rise

Peak broadband speeds are continuing to rise around the world, new data has shown.

According to figures released as part of the State of the Internet study by Akamai, average peak connection speed grew during the fourth quarter of 2014 by 8.4 per cent to 26.9 Mbps.

However, the report found that the global average connection speed remained constant over the course of the three-month period when compared to Q3 2014, at 4.5 Mbps.

The highest average peak connection speed was revealed by the report to be found in Hong Kong.

There was also a rise in the number of 4K-ready (>15 Mbps) connections according to the report, which said they increased to 12 per cent. This means that there is a readiness rate 37 per cent higher than was recorded in Q4 2013.

High broadband (>10 Mbps) adoption was up by 2.9 per cent around the world from Q3 2014, rising to 24 per cent, with countries such as South Korea pushing that figure higher. The State of the Internet study also found global broadband (>4 Mbps) declined slightly to 59 per cent during Q4 2014.

More than one billion users are thought to be connecting to the internet via IPv4 addresses, with Akamai noting that IPv4 is nearing "exhaustion".

The report said: "The number of IPv4 addresses grew by 8.1 per cent in the United Kingdom and 6.6 per cent in South Korea, the largest gains in Q4 2014, while the US showed a 3.4 per cent decline."

Brazil saw the biggest increase in IPv4 addresses compared to Q4 2013 at 28 per cent and Bulgaria was revealed to have achieved the highest broadband adoption rate, at 96 per cent.

Figures collected by Ericsson show that mobile data traffic growth is also on the rise, with an increase of 11 per cent recorded in Q4 2014 over Q3 2014, although voice traffic remained the same.

Businesses looking to move services into the cloud should evaluate the performance of their existing network and consider setting up a leased line or MPLS network.