In the US the median speed ranges from a slow 0.54 mbps in Alaska to a speedy 5 mbps in Rhode Island. A histogram generated from the data shows that most states fall from 1 to 2.5 mbps. Delaware comes in at #9 with around almost 2.7 mbps. But that is still low compared to the rest of the world.
Combining the speed data with population density data (population and area) reveals a weak correlation, but what you would expect, higher population density states states have higher median broadband speeds. This is probably a reflection of higher population density states having cities or better infrastructure, though there are still outliers like Kansas, with a high speed for a low population density state and Rhode Island which is an outlier for speed. I did try to work on finding measurements of state infrastructure such as roads (using median distance to road information from this article), but I failed to find any better correlation.The data (.pdf report) is from Speed tests results for Sept. 2006 through May 2007; most participants had DSL or cable modem connections Source: CWA Communications. I think that the CWA, Communication Workers of America, is trying to make the point for better higher speed Internet access which gets them more jobs.
(go take the test yourself)
5 comments:
So what would be wrong with getting everyone connected and at the same time providing good paying jobs that can't be outsourced?
The host site is probably slow due to the population growth of users in the host site. Seaowl not everybody will have the same time as well as same hosting site where it won't be outsource also.
seaowl - nothing is wrong with getting people connected and generated jobs. I just wanted people to understand the source of the message.
The data is interesting and I was interested in it, as you can see from the post. CWA has provided a great service for testing speed, but they do also have an agenda that must be noted for those interested in analyzing the data.
There is also a link that lets you send a message to Congress. You can add your own comments and they will hand deliver it to the Hill.
I was shocked that California only ranked #36. I am near the Silicon Valley and my DSL is hitting a whopping 1318kbps! That is totaly unacceptable for what we pay. We need a new policy that provides true high speed, low cost access for all. There is too much to be gained from applications like telemedicne, distance education and civic participation to not push this issue.
Post a Comment