The third annual broadband study from Saïd Business School, Oxford University, shows global broadband quality has improved by 24 per cent in one year.

The study was conducted by a team of MBA students from the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford and the University of Oviedo’s Department of Applied Economics, and sponsored by Cisco. Using the data from 40 million real-life broadband quality tests conducted in May and June of 2010 on the Internet speed testing site, speedtest.net, the researchers were able to evaluate the broadband quality of 72 countries around the globe.

• The study looks at broadband quality in 72 countries and 239 cities
• 14 countries (1 in 5) are already prepared for the Internet “applications of tomorrow”, compared to only 1 country in 2008
• 38 countries, 53 per cent of the total, have conquered the digital quality divide, with less evident differences between the broadband quality inside and outside their main cities, an improvement of 58 per cent in just one year
• Study reaffirms positive link between broadband leadership and innovation economies
• Many emerging economies are ‘leapfrogging’ by focusing on bringing the best broadband to their cities, acknowledging their impact on the economy 
• 38 cities already have the broadband quality required for the applications of tomorrow, ready to support smart and connected communities
• Mobile broadband quality has improved significantly, with 10% of mobile broadband users already enjoying similar quality experiences compared to those with fixed-line broadband
• Broadband consumption patterns are diverging, from a basic household requiring over 2 Mbps and consuming about 20 GB per month, to a smart and connected home commanding over 20 Mbps and a consumption of 500 GB per month

Overall, thanks to a range of investments in infrastructure, global broadband quality has improved by 50 per cent in just three years and penetration of broadband continues to improve, with about half of the households (49%) of the countries investigated now having access to broadband (up from 40% in 2008).