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The internet is continuing to change and Akamai is tracking those changes on a global stage. In addition to testing for 4K media streaming capabilities and IPv6 adoptions rates, Akamai is also expanding their analysis of mobile connectivity. Their published quarterly report is an interesting read and showcases the trends of internet availability on a variety of platforms around the world including the iPad and iPhone.
4K media is in the spotlight right now with movies in theaters being released at this high resolution and television finally catching up. Apple hasn’t ignored this new tech with Final Cut X receiving features and the new Mac Pro stepping up to the plate. The question that is starting to be asked is if or when 4K streaming will be available. Mobile networks are currently far from able to handle 4K using the current encoding methods, but there has been a substantial move towards the average of 15 Mbps needed to handle the larger format. The Akamai report doesn’t provide a list of countries which are able to stream 4K but instead shows the concentration of compatible bandwidth.
4K is still only partially related to iOS and retina displays, but certainly iPad and iPhone users will be able to enjoy very crisp movies when such streaming becomes an option. The portion of the Akamai report that relates more specifically to iOS users is in traffic originating from mobile Safari, which is less on cellular networks, but highest when analyzed on all networks. Clearly non-network iPads are playing a role in the higher Safari numbers when connected to wifi, but perhaps iOS users in general are more keen to connect to non-network sources when available.
No matter how you look at the data, the main take away is that the internet is continuing to grow and the speeds are increasing. South Korea is in the lead and the United States is average at best, but with more people relying on streaming and the cloud, the increased capabilities are going to keep coming.
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