Akamai: 11% of Internet Connections Are Ready for 4K Video
Ultra-high definition 4K video is starting to arrive, but how many can view it? According to Akamai's Q1 2014 State of the Internet report, only 11 percent of all global connections are ready for 4K.
Akamai spells out that 4K adaptive bitrate video needs a connection of between 10- and 20Mbs. Akamai measured the number of connections at 15Mbps or greater and found that only 11 percent of global connections were at that level. South Korea has the strongest level of 4K readiness with 60 percent of connections. Japan is at 32 percent and the Czech Republic at 17 percent.
The report finds that the global average connection speed is now at 3.9Mbps, and should pass 4Mbps in this quarter. That shows a growth of 1.8 percent in the first quarter of the year. (However, global average peak connection speeds fell by 8.6 percent at the same time.) South Korea again leads the way, showing a jump of 8 percent in average connection speeds this quarter to 23.6Mbps. That puts it 9Mbps ahead of second place Japan, Akamai finds. Out of the 10 counties with the fastest average connection speeds, only the Czech Republic showed a decline (of 1.9 percent); it's in eighth place, as before.
With an average of 10.5Mbps, the United States came in twelfth in global connection speeds. The most 4K-ready states are Massachusetts (27 percent), Delaware (26 percent), and New Hampshire (24 percent).
Akamai makes the full report available for free, no registration required.
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