New data from Ookla, which runs the popular Speedtest.net website, shows SA has slipped to sixth place among African nations in terms of Internet speeds, ranking below Zimbabwe.

African countries with speedier average download connections are Ghana, in first place with an average throughput of 5,7Mbit/s, as well as Kenya (4,9Mbit/s), Angola (4,5Mbit/s), Libya (4,2Mbit/s) and Zimbabwe (3,3Mbit/s). SA’s average throughput is just under 3Mbit/s.

However, the Ookla figures — obtained by analysing test data between 19 February and 19 March — do need to be treated with caution as comparatively more South Africans make use of the Speedtest.net servers than users in countries such as Ghana and Zimbabwe, skewing the results.

The fastest average speeds, according to Ookla, are obtained in Midrand (at 7,9Mbit/s), but it must be remembered that a number of telecommunications operators are based there and these operators tend to make extensive use of the Speedtest.net website to test their networks.

Midrand is followed by Boksburg at 5,9Mbit/s and Randburg at 4,2Mbit/s. Durbanville in Cape Town comes in fourth at 3,5Mbit/s and Centurion, south of Pretoria, fifth at 3,3Mbit/s.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research produced the fastest average download speed of just under 50Mbit/s, followed by the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (listed by Ookla as the Cape Technikon) at 33,4Mbit/s.

The world’s fastest average country connections, according to Ookla, are Lithuania, at 31,8Mbit/s, followed by Korea (27,7Mbit/s) and Latvia (27,3Mbit/s). The US is in 33rd place with an average download speed of 12,3Mbit/s. The world’s slowest average connection — in the 174 countries measured — is in the Northern Mariana Islands, with speeds of half a megabit per second.

The full ranking is available here. — Staff reporter, TechCentral