Giganomics Consulting Inc.

Canadian broadband service has been criticized for being too slow.  However, information from Akamai Technologies Inc. indicates that actual achieved speeds of broadband service in Canada compare positively with several countries.  This is according to data that Akamai collects from 444 million unique IP addresses in countries around the world.

Akamai’s “State of the Internet” report for the third quarter of 2009 reported that the average achieved speed was 4.25 Mbps downstream for wireline internet connections in Canada.

Most OECD countries were reported to be delivering similar speeds, with the exception of South Korea and Japan.  Sweden ranked third after these two countires, with an average speed of 5.7 Mbps, only 1.5 Mbps greater than the average in Canada.  As shown in the chart below, several countries achieved speeds in the 4 to 6 Mbps range.  Most users would find little difference in their internet experience within this range.

Canada’s average speed of 4.25 Mbps downstream reflects the types of services to which consumers subscribe.  If the bulk of subscriptions are concentrated among tiers of service with maximum speeds of 5 Mbps, then the achieved speed will tend to be closer to that, regardless of the potential speeds of the fastest service tiers.  In 2008, more than 40% of Canadian subscribers used a service with advertised speeds of less than 5 Mbps.

Further details from the Akamai report indicated that 77% of internet connections in Canada achieved speeds of at least 2 Mbps or greater and 24% were at 5 Mbps or greater.  Canada ranked tenth in terms of high broadband (5 Mbps or greater) connections per capita.