SEATTLE — Despite notable drops in download speeds in both mobile and fixed broadband networks last spring at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Internet held up well to the massive increase in use throughout 2020 as people around the world moved to remote work and schooling.
That’s according to a year-end recap from Seattle-based broadband testing company Ookla, based on its Speedtest Intelligence data.
Canada was among the many G20 countries who saw month-to-month declines in median download speeds over mobile during spring 2020. Other countries who saw dips in mobile speeds in the spring include Australia, France, India, Italy, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain and Turkey.
According to Speedtest data, median mobile download speeds in Canada were a little more than 50 Mbps in March/April, dropped to approximately 43 Mbps in July/August, then increased to almost 70 Mbps in December. Ookla says almost all G20 countries saw higher median download speeds over mobile in December than they had in January 2020.
Fixed broadband speeds also improved in all G20 countries over the course of 2020, despite some interim dips during the year,
says Ookla. Countries which saw monthly declines in median fixed broadband download speeds during spring 2020 include Canada, Argentina, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Turkey and the United States. However, by December 2020, all G20 countries saw higher median download speeds over fixed broadband compared to January 2020, Ookla says.
In Canada, median download speeds over fixed broadband were a little more than 60 Mbps in January 2020, dipped slightly to just under 60 Mbps in April, then increased to almost 80 Mbps in December, according to Ookla’s Speedtest data.
For more information about how other countries fared during the pandemic, please click here.
