Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden lead the way for 4K readiness on broadband in Europe.
With 4K (Ultra HD) adaptive bitrate streams generally requiring between 10-20 Mbps of bandwidth, the new 4K Readiness metric presented for the first time in the First Quarter, 2014 State of the Internet Report highlights the percentage of connections to Akamai at speeds above 15 Mbps, with the goal of identifying candidate geographies most likely to sustain such streams. The findings do not account for other ‘readiness’ factors, including the availability of 4K-encoded content or 4K-capable televisions and players.
Globally, 11% of connections were at speeds of 15 Mbps or above in the first quarter of 2014. With 60% 4K readiness, South Korea headed the top 10 countries/regions on the 4K readiness list, while Japan had 32% of its connections to Akamai at 15 Mbps or above. A total of six European countries made it into the top 10 countries/regions ranking; Switzerland (#4), the Netherlands (#6), Sweden (#7), Norway (#8), Finland (#9) and Czech Republic (#10).
Within Europe, the top three countries (Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden) had more than one-fifth of their connections at speeds over 15 Mbps in the first quarter of 2014. Switzerland’s 23% 4K readiness rate was the highest level seen in a European country, while Czech Republic had the lowest level of 4K readiness with 17%.
The impressive year-over-year changes in European countries point to the improved adoption of high-speed broadband connectivity that will ultimately drive higher levels of 4K readiness.
The chart below ranks the worldwide Top 10 of average broadband speeds.
