LAS VEGAS – If the forecast for 4K Ultra HD global penetration numbers holds true, it looks like broadband service providers in most countries, including Canada, will have some catching up to do in order to support its adoption when it comes to online delivery.
Content Delivery Business Akamai recently released its Q3 2015 State of the Internet report which found that 15% of the world’s Internet connections now average 15 mbps or higher, which is the minimum speed it says is necessary to properly stream 4K content. That’s up from the 12% reported in Q3 of last year.
In the Americas, Canada ranked second behind the U.S. with an average speed of 11.9 Mbps compared to their 12.6 Mbps speed, but well ahead of all other countries in the region. Overall, Canada ranks 21st in the world but did see average speeds increase by 16% compared to a year ago.
With Ultra-high definition (UHD) 4K LCD panels experiencing steep price declines, the IHS TV Sets Intelligence Service is predicting 4K TV household penetration in the United States will reach 34% by 2019. Figures were not made available for Canada.
4K TV household penetration in the European Union is expected to reach 25% in 2019 as the growing availability of UHD content from Internet and pay-TV providers support this trend. Switzerland is expected to reach 32% penetration in 2019, followed closely by the United Kingdom at 31%.
South Korea had the top average connection speed at 20.5 Mbps, despite a year-over-year drop of 19% since the third quarter of 2014. Three of the top 10 countries/regions – South Korea (24% adoption), Hong Kong (14% adoption), and Japan (13% adoption) – saw yearly declines, losing 37%, 15%, and 2.5%, respectively.
The report notes that speeds in Canada will likely continue to trend upward next year with recent announcements from providers such as Bell Fibe to launch a Gigabit Fibe service, enabling speeds of up to 940 Mbps currently and increasing to speeds of over 1 Gbps in 2016 (Rogers has also made such an announcement).
Currently available to 800,000 homes across Canada, Bell’s Gigabit Fibe will be available to 2.2 million homes by the end of 2015. The report also noted the government’s announced broadband initiatives, including investing $6 million in funding to bring high-speed access to 14,000 homes in rural Nova Scotia, as well as new measures requiring broadband incumbents to offer wholesale access to their infrastructure in an effort to foster increased competition among broadband providers.
