PROVIDENCE – The average internet speed across the United States increased 40.1% in 2021 compared with pre-pandemic levels, shooting up from 84.5 megabits per second to 118.4 Mbps, despite a surge in bandwidth demand, according to a recent study by search engine company WhistleOut.
Rhode Island’s internet speed increased 8.3%, while Massachusetts saw an increase of 36.6%.
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West Virginia was the only state to see a decrease in its internet speed in 2021, dropping 17.6% from 59.2 Mbps before the pandemic to 48.7 Mbps now. This is an improvement over 2020, when five states saw decreased internet speeds, WhistleOut said.
States with the largest increases in their internet speeds for 2021 were Alaska at 170.2%, due to a state effort to boost its internet infrastructure; Idaho at 77.7%; Kentucky at 70.6%; Iowa at 64%; and Wyoming at 62.6%. Rounding out the top 10 were Kansas at 60.3%, Maine at 59.7%, Montana at 57.7%, Oklahoma at 57.4% and South Carolina at 56.1%.
To ensure accuracy in testing, WhistleOut says its data analysts reviewed more than 907,233 speed test results, ensuring each IP address appeared only once.
“Our research suggests that once working, studying and gaming from home became the norm, a reliable home network became a top priority. Plus, today’s homes include more than just computers or phones connecting to the internet, but also gaming consoles, smart fridges and other devices vying for a portion of the bandwidth,” according to the study. “While trying to support these home connectivity needs, middling download speeds started to become a nuisance. Ultimately, internet providers saw the demand for faster, more reliable home internet and are making that happen across the United States.”
Susan Shalhoub is a PBN contributing writer.
