U.S. Internet: Which States Have The Slowest Speeds? (REPORT)

While Internet speeds are sure to differ greatly from country to country, one might expect speeds to be more consistent from state to state within a single country. Alas, as cloud platform provider Akamai shows in its latest "The State of the Internet" report for the fourth quarter of 2011, such is not the case in America.

The annual report, which analyzes data collected from around the world through Akamai's Intelligent cloud platform, shows that, just like countries, Internet connectivity speeds vary from region to region and from state to state, with some states outperforming others by wide margins. Along with a list of states with the highest average Internet connection speeds -- such as Rhode Island, New Hampshire and, at the top, Delaware -- Akamai also examined the states that had the slowest average connection speeds and where the most people experienced slow speeds.

While Delaware residents enjoy an average peak data rate of 36 megabits per second (Mbps), people in Arkansas can expect speeds to top out at 13.3 Mbps on average. Akamai also compiled a list of states with the highest percentage of "narrowband" connection speeds, which are speeds slower than 256 kilobits per second (kbps), according to the report. Akamai ranked the states by what percentage of all Internet connections adopted within the state in the past year were working below 256 kbps. (See slideshow to view states with the highest percentage of snail-slow connections.)

To put that speed into context, researchers set a new Internet speed record in December 2011, achieving a data rate of 186 gigabits per second, equivalent to 23, 808 Mbps. According to a press release announcing the news, that speed would allow the transfer of 100,000 full Blu-ray disks in a single day.

There is a silver lining around these data, though. Akamai's report shows, there is a "clear trend" away from the adoption of very slow connections; as you'll see in the slideshow below, the percentage of Internet connection speeds working below 256 kbps have decreased from Q3 2011 to Q4 2011 in every single state on the list.

Writing about the study's methodology, Gigaom points out, "It’s important to note that Akamai measures this from folks connecting to get content off of its servers, so there are folks with broadband connections that might not be counted if they never manage to hit Akamai’s services (such is someone who only gets email)."

Flip through the slideshow below to check out the states where you'll find the most low-speed Internet connections. Then, make sure to check out Akamai's list of the top nine countries with the fastest Internet speeds. Were you surprised by any of the states you saw? Let us know in the comments!

Loading Slideshow

• #9: Texas

  Percent below 256 kbps: 2.3 percent Change From Last First Quarter: 2.2 percent decrease Pictured: The Alamo, a national historic landmark in San Antonio, Texas.

• #8: Ohio

  Percent below 256 kbps: 2.3 percent Change From Last First Quarter: 3.7 percent decrease Pictured: The Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio.

• #7: Colorado

  Percent below 256 kbps: 2.4 percent Change from last quarter: 4.1 percent decrease Pictured: The summit of Pikes Peak, near Colorado Springs, Colorado.

• #6: Iowa

  Percent below 256 kbps: 2.5 percent Changes from last quarter: 6.0 decrease Pictured: The Federal Building in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

• #5: Illinois

  Percent below 256 kbps: 2.8 percent Change from last quarter: 4.1 percent decrease Pictured: The top of the Chicago Board of Trade Building in Chicago, Illinois.

• #4: Alaska

  Percent below 256 kbps: 2.8 percent Change from last quarter: 9.1 decrease Pictured: The Gastineau Channel in Juneau, Alaska.

• #3: Georgia

  Percent below 256 kbps: 2.9 percent Change from last quarter: 3.4 decrease Pictured: A fountain in Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia.

• #2: Missouri

  Percent below 256 kbps: 4.1 percent Change from last quarter: 3.7 percent decrease Pictured: The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri.

• #1: District Of Columbia

  Percent below 256 kbps: 4.4 percent Change From Last First Quarter: 5.3 percent decrease Pictured: The dome of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, District of Columbia.

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Comments

[vonbek]

02:12 PM on 05/06/2012

It will not get better in rural areas till the government steps in, ISP's will not expand into rural areas because there is no profit motive so the best they can expect is some form of wireless if anything. It was the same way in the 20's and 30's with electricity it cost too much for companies to expand to rural areas so the government had to step in Google "rural electrification". It would also be nice if we ended the monopolies that ISP's such as Comcast, Cox and other hold over regions in the U.S. . I live in Portland, Oregon we are considered lucky because we have Comcast(cable), CentryLink(DSL) and Clear(WiMax) but this really isn't free market competition because it is 3 different types on internet service. Prices will not start to drop till we have actual competition say Cox, Comcast, and Time Warner cable in one market. Do not give me the old line that the cable company paid for the line B.S. tax payers footed much of the bill in Portland, not to mention it was tax payers who paid for the development of the ARPANET the forerunner to the internet. We could be like people in Paris who get 100MB connection, free phone calls to 100 countries, and 140 TV channels all for 45 bucks U.S. but we love us some monopolies here in the USA.

[RaiderFan13]

11:38 PM on 05/05/2012

It's a clear "red states" vs "blue states" comparison !

Slowest speeds relate to fewest teeth, most polluted, least educated = Red states.

Faster speeds relate to most educated, and least needful of FEMA disaster funds = Blue states.

[tootrue]

10:48 PM on 05/05/2012

Here in rural PA, we have no cable, and are barely able to get 3Mbs DSL from the phone co.

No cell service at home from AT&T either, had to connect a microcell to my DSL line.

[local21]

08:52 AM on 05/05/2012

Vonage and Magic Jack are out there installing fiber optic cable as fast as they can.

[george martini]

01:36 PM on 05/05/2012

Its about time they got started. We've got to catch up to the leading technological countries in the world.

[local21]

03:42 PM on 05/05/2012

Their capital budgets are pouring everything they have to the fiber optic build out. Expect to see trucks and crews rolling 24/7.

[George McAulay]

11:53 PM on 05/04/2012

Australia is just one of many countries that are rolling out fibre to every household and business which will be completed by 2020 and there are many countries ahead of us.

This is another area for the USA that has been sacrificed to fund two unwinnable wars instead by the GOP.

Hope the oil was worth it.

[george martini]

01:37 PM on 05/05/2012

It's all Al Gore's fault for improperly inventing the internet with coax cable.

[Dr JohnS]

05:42 PM on 05/04/2012

This article cannot be right, I distinctly remember that Obama was going to spend his first term in upgrading our Internet speeds so that every one would have great access. His first term ends in a few months. Please correct the story.

[barryrls]

09:27 PM on 05/04/2012

Plain and simple you are a simpleton of the first order. How about placing the blame on A.T. and T. And Comcast too and the few other large ISP's and the cosy and special arrangements they conspired with Congress. With the total obstructionism by the republicans/teabaggers, perhaps that's where the problem lies.

[Dr JohnS]

09:37 PM on 05/04/2012

You may be right, but I do not think ATT or the ones you mentioned were making that their priority. It was mr. Obama who said he would change the situation. Nothing has changed since he has taken over - except for the worse that is.

[born 2b different]

02:51 PM on 05/06/2012

Don't blame Comcast. I get 35Mbps service from them! That's fast!

[george martini]

01:40 PM on 05/05/2012

He had so much opposition for everything else he tried to accomplish and this item was probably at the bottom of his to do list.

[Dr JohnS]

01:50 PM on 05/05/2012

I think the marks of a good leader is to take what is handed to you and move the country forward. Do you think that Mr. Obama is the first president to face opposition? Every president has had to face it and some did with extraordinary leadership qualities.

[NVEd]

04:55 PM on 05/04/2012

It's all Obama's fault.

[george martini]

01:43 PM on 05/05/2012

No, the blame rests solely on the shoulders of Vice President Biden and his insipid use of his iPod for playing Solitaire.

[Jonathan Taylor]

09:57 PM on 12/03/2012

The red states can have their outdated technology and we northerners will bask in our "fast" internet speeds

[bbtri]

03:58 PM on 05/04/2012

So what do they do in an article about internet speed? Put in a bunch of bandwidth hogging slides that add no information to the article, and the page won't even let you scroll past them without them opening. What is Huffpost's fascination with slide shows? If I wanted to watch TV I would watch TV.

[SueZbell]

03:46 PM on 05/04/2012

Georgia communication usually moves at a slower pace when talking, too. :-(

[Craig 212]

03:56 PM on 05/04/2012

I don't think Georgia has never not made it onto one of HP's "worst state" lists...

[NWProf]

04:25 PM on 05/04/2012

Ahh, Georgia, the Republicon Force is strong in that one.

[Dileas]

01:29 PM on 05/05/2012

Or Texas. *sigh*

You get what you pay for... and Texas is paying for big Republican government and their cronies.

[Post31]

03:24 PM on 05/04/2012

Speeds are still garbage.

[WilliamWalton]

03:23 PM on 05/04/2012

Instead of worrying about SOPA and PIPA, the Congress SHOULD be concerned ending the protections that the providers get via lack of competition in each area. If all the companies had to actually fight for our business instead of keeping us at their mercy, you would see rates decline and speeds go up.

[Klad InVermont]

03:13 PM on 05/04/2012

I'm surprised VT didn't make the list, since we only have had DSL available where I live since last July. Before that it was only dial-up.

[koyaanisqatsi57]

04:36 PM on 05/04/2012

I'm in Western NYS. I can't get cable Internet access (I'm OK with that). I'm lucky to get DSL and many of my neighbors can't get that.

[Littlewords]

03:07 PM on 05/04/2012

Thank our incompetent, greedy, bloated, monopolistic telcos.

[edejan]

02:50 PM on 05/04/2012

Yup, I live in rural Illinois and can attest to the slowness. Also the lack of cell phone signal. Third world country, anyone?

[Frze]

02:50 PM on 05/04/2012

In Virginia, we've got HughesNet - the only non-dial-up available in our area. And it's molasses at 200kbps if we're lucky.
Lived in the Middle East and had local Internet that was MUCH faster - and that was 15 years ago.
We suck.