Access speeds determine the applications the Internet can be used for – by both businesses and consumers. In terms of retail (consumer) service offers, speeds vary considerably, with most consumer fixed broadband subscriptions already marketed at over 10 Mbps. Nevertheless, a significant proportion of subscriptions still offer between 2 Mbps and 10 Mbps. As of 2017, the leading advertised download speed in OECD countries was 10 Gbps (10 000 Mbps), though only a small number of consumer offers were available at that level. Offers marketed at 1 Gbps are increasingly common in countries where fibre to the premises or upgraded cable broadband networks are in place. This is particularly the case in countries with high population densities, such as Japan and Korea, as well as in an increasing number of cities in the United States. Gigabit speeds are most commonly found where there is either strong infrastructure competition between operators or competition between retail providers using wholesale networks.
Business users, educational institutions, and the public sector can often access tailored high-speed products such as leased lines between specific locations. However, these cannot be analysed separately in the statistics currently available.
Many OECD countries have on-going national broadband strategies setting objectives for speeds and coverage. Targets of 100 Mbps or more are becoming increasingly common; by 2020, the United States aims to have broadband speeds of 100 Mbps or more available to 80% of households, while the targets in Norway and Austria are for 90% and 99% coverage, respectively. In Australia, the “National Broadband Network” aims to deliver peak wholesale download data rates of at least 25 Mbps to all premises by 2020. Some smaller countries can target even greater speeds: Luxembourg aims to have 1 Gbps connections for all businesses and households in place by 2020, and Sweden is aiming for 98% coverage by 2025 (OECD, 2018a). As strategies are implemented, their impacts will be reflected in indicators of Internet speed.
Even in countries where connections advertised at 1 Gbps or greater are available, delivering these speeds to all geographical locations remains a challenge. It is also common for the actual speed experienced by users to be below the advertised speed. Different approaches exist for gauging Internet speed, each with its own limitations and caveats. It is important to examine multiple sources on speeds to obtain a rounded view of performance. Measurements from Ookla and M-lab, which allow users to self-test their connection speeds, provide complementary measures that contrast with contracted speed tiers data. For example, in Switzerland 84% of subscriptions have a contracted speed greater than 100 Mbps, as do over 60% in Sweden and Portugal. Average speeds measured by Ookla are just over 100 Mbps in Sweden and Switzerland, and slightly less (70 Mbps) in Portugal, but M-lab measurements typically show markedly lower speeds. Together, these sources give a complementary and nuanced, although still partial, view of experienced speeds.