Communications firm Broadview Networks has been crunching some numbers relating to broadband internet speed, and the results look good for VA residents: at 13.7 megabits per second, our home state has the fastest average connection speed in the country.
Communications firm Broadview Networks has been crunching some numbers relating to broadband internet speed, and the results look good for VA residents: at 13.7 megabits per second, our home state has the fastest average connection speed in the country. In fact, it looks like the East Coast is a good place to be for fast internet in general–rounding out the top 5 were Delaware, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Washington DC.
The data Broadview used, which came from Akamai’s State Of The Internet report, revealed that there’s quite a bit of difference between the speeds you get living here and elsewhere in the country. Some of those differences make sense: rural, sparsely populated states far from major cities, such as Alaska, Montana, and Arkansas, have some of the slowest internet speeds in the country. Other differences are a bit less obvious: California, home of Silicon Valley, is relatively low on the list at 20th, with 10.9 Mbps. Meanwhile, Utah is eighth with 12.1 Mbps. I guess the Mormon bigwigs have major influence with fiber optics manufacturers. Or something like that.
The breakdown definitely confirms Virginia’s traditional anti-West Virginia bias in at least this one aspect. Appearing at 46th on the list, West Virginia’s average connection speed is only 7.5 Mbps, barely more than half the speed VA residents receive. In truth, it’s probably all those Defense Dept. computers in NoVA that are making the results so dramatically different between the two states, but you’re welcome to ignore that fact in favor of using this as another reason to make fun of West Virginia if that’s what floats your boat.
Either way, this study reminds us once again that it rules to live in RVA. Next time you think about moving to another state, just remember that in addition to all the other things you’ll miss out on by leaving, your YouTube videos will probably also load a lot more slowly. And that’s a fate no one wants to face.
