According to a recent report released by Ookla shows growth in Internet speed. The state of the internet report this week demonstrating mobile and broadband internet are increasing around the globe, although not every nation is keeping pace.
In 2018, mobile internet speeds rose 15% on average to 23 megabits per second (Mbps) down (15.2%), while upload speeds rose 9 Mbps (11.2%). Broadband internet (over fiber optic or metal) surged 26% to 46 Mbps down, and 22 Mbps up. That’s a slightly slower rate of increase than 2017, but telecoms are steadily building out new infrastructure, especially fixed Gigabit connections (many cities got the high-speed service for the first time in 2018) and 4G (with “5G” on the way).
Their blasting fast speeds are generally twice as quick as their fastest big-nation counterparts, China and US (31 Mbps and 29 Mbps, individually). Fixed internet speeds demonstrate a comparable example.
As for the slowest countries among the 124 ranked, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Algeria, and Venezuela finished at the bottom with recorded speeds of 7.5 Mbps or slower. Although Guinea-Bissau wasn’t even in the lest as the average speed of internet in Guinea is as 1602 kbps.
Guinea-Bissau infrastructure, which suffered from a lack of investment and development, is only recently improving. Internet speeds are no exception. It ranks 148th out of 150 countries for fixed broadband download speeds.
The government has a large stake in the telecom industry holding a monopoly on fixed line internet infrastructure, Now that political and economic stability is improving in Guinea, an increase in foreign investment presents new opportunities for growth. Infrastructure improvements are also coming with mobile providers finally securing 4G licenses at the end of last year.