Cloud technology services provider Akamai says 19 percent of U.S. homes now can sustain the average 15 Mbps broadband speeds necessary to stream 4K/Ultra HD video.
Akamai's latest State of the Internet report registered a slight speed improvement for the U.S. market. In June, the company released quarterly statistics showing that only 17 percent of U.S. homes could sustain the 15 Mbps threshold.
Akamai found that the average U.S connection has averaged sustained speeds of around 11 Mbps, a mark unchanged from its last quarterly report. However, that average speed represents a 21 percent year-over-year improvement.
The company attributes the uptick to continued DOCSIS 3.0 upgrades being made by cable providers.
Akamai says the U.S. now ranks 12th globally in terms of average broadband speeds. The U.S. ranked 17th in a report by the company released six months ago.
With only one-fifth of the U.S. market capable of streaming 4K, cable and satellite TV operators are moving aggressively into the higher-resolution marketplace. DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV), Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Dish Network (NASDAQ: DISH) have all made 4K service announcements within the last 60 days.
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4K-ready homes (those with broadband speeds at or greater than 15 Mbps, by state. (Source: Akamai State of the Internet Q3 2014) |
For more:
- read this Akamai report (reg. req.)
- read this DSL Reports post
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