Speed

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.