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Ookla: Minneapolis has the fastest mobile internet among US cities
If you live in or often visit Minneapolis, Ookla has good news for you: the company says that locale tops the list of US cities with the fastest mobile internet, with a mean download speed of 44.92 Mbps. Ookla, which analyzed data from its Speedtest app from the first half of the year, said Minneapolis' Twin Cities brethren Saint Paul was in second place, followed by Fort Wayne, Indiana; San Francisco; and Irvine, California. Atlanta and Pittsburgh followed those cities, while Minnesota was also the fastest state.
T-Mobile has the fastest and most consistent mobile data in the US
Speedtest owner Ookla has revealed its findings about who has the fastest mobile network in the United States. The outfit found that T-Mobile took the top spot over Verizon and AT&T with average speeds hitting 23.17 Mbps, 21.13 Mbps and 20.05 Mbps, respectively. That holds true overall under a number of different categories as well. T-Mobile is also the fastest carrier in 40 percent of the largest U.S. cities, but Ookla notes the following:
Google is testing internet speeds straight from search
For years Ookla has dominated internet speed test traffic, but Netflix recently unveiled a simpler option. Now, Google may be muscling into the game with its own test that works straight from search. Internet marketer Dr. Pete Meyers spotted an "Internet speed test" appearing directly in search results prompted by the query "check internet speed." If you click the "run speed test" box (below), Google's Measurement Lab checks your connection speed and gives more details that can help system administrators.
US broadband is getting faster but still lags behind Asia
It's been a good year for the internet in America. Not only did it receive much needed federal Net Neutrality protections, the average download speed increased by a solid 10 Mbps nationwide over the previous year. As of March 2015, the average download speed in the US is 33.9Mbps -- thanks, in part, to increased infrastructure investments by ISPs. That figure puts the US ahead of a number of European nations including the UK (30.18Mbps), Germany (29.95Mbps), Spain (28.28Mbps) and Ireland (27.29Mbps). But don't start chanting "SCOREBOARD!" just yet. Those speeds are only enough to move the US up to 27th out of 199 connected countries worldwide and roughly half of what South Korea (84.31Mbps) and Japan (60.49Mbps) enjoy.
FCC orders T-Mobile to stop misleading throttled customers about speeds
Up to now, T-Mobile has been generously unblocking Ookla and other mobile test sites so you could see exactly how much speed you weren't getting when it throttled you. But the FCC has called a halt to that piece of duplicity, forcing the carrier to show true speeds to consumers. John Legere's outfit will now send you an SMS linking to speed tests that correctly calculate data rates when you hit your cap. It'll also be forced to provide a smartphone app or button linking to accurate tests, and clarify that others may provide full network rather than throttled speeds.
Your internet is probably slower than advertised
When it comes to internet speeds, "you get what you pay for" is pretty far from the truth a majority of the time. The Wall Street Journal used Ookla's speed-testing data to survey some 800 US cities and 27 ISPs in terms of advertised transfer rates and what customers are actually getting, and the results are pretty surprising. A vast majority of providers give their customers the short shrift on speed (Verizon Internet Services and AT&T Uverse are among the most prominent offenders), while a handful of ISPs including Charter, Earthlink and Midcontinent Communications actually exceed promised speeds by eight percent or more. A probable reason for the latter is because those listed are smaller providers, with likely lighter user-loads than, say, Comcast or CenturyLink.
Engadget Primed: Using benchmarks
Primed goes in-depth on the technobabble you hear on Engadget every day -- we dig deep into each topic's history and how it benefits our lives. Looking to suggest a piece of technology for us to break down? Drop us a line at primed *at* engadget *dawt* com. Staring at your smartphone, you realize that there's something missing. It does everything you want it to -- very well, we might add -- but what hole is left to fill? We'll help you out with this one: you want bragging rights. There has to be a way to face your friends with confidence, right? All you need is a little nudge in the right direction, and in this edition of Engadget Primed, we'll give you that much-needed shove by explaining benchmarks. Perhaps you've seen us talk about benchmarks in our product reviews. We'll typically use them to gauge the relative performance of various devices, but discussing a Linpack score doesn't mean much without going deeper into what it actually means. What aspects of performance do these benchmarks measure, and what techniques do they use? How much can we rely on them when making purchasing decisions? Read on after the break for the full scoop.
FCC wants to know your mobile broadband speed
You may remember that Verizon started running ads a while ago showing AT&T's anemic 3G coverage map. AT&T responded by saying "Our coverage includes 97% of the country!" In the small print on Verizon's ads they make it clear that AT&T does have coverage outside of 3G. In the small print on AT&T's ads they make it clear 3G isn't available everywhere. What kind of difference does 3G really make? For American wireless users, the FCC is interested in knowing how fast your mobile broadband really is. The agency has released a free iPhone app, made by Ookla, who also made the free Speedtest.net Speed Test app for iPhone (there is also an Android version). In case you're concerned about your personal information ending up in the servers of the Feds, note the app disclaimer: "Results may be pooled to analyze the quality and coverage of mobile broadband connections across the United States as part of a larger effort by the FCC to identify areas with insufficient or nonexistent access to broadband." More details can be found on the FCC's page here. I downloaded the app and ran three sets of tests: on Wi-Fi (connected to DSL), on 3G, and on Edge. I ran each set three time: i.e. 3 times on Wi-Fi, 3 times on 3G, and 3 times on Edge, and then averaged the results to try to offset any temporary network glitches that would throw off the results. I also made sure I was using the same server for each test. (You can either let it select the best server based on your location or choose one manually from a list.) Read on for the results...
