Triangle internet speeds are climbing: 96% improvement since pandemic began

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – The growth of fiber-optic speed internet from a growing number of providers across the Triangle means speeds are increasing quickly – more than 96% since the pandemic began, according to a new report.

As demand for faster internet grew during the pandemic with many more people working at home and families looking for at-home entertainment due to social distancing, providers responded with expanded networks and more speed.

However the big jump isn’t large enough to rank the Triangle region among the top 20 U.S. metro areas, says Highspeedinternet,com, a firm that studies internet access.

According to data from a variety of sources, Triangle internet users get on average download speeds of 73.8 megabits per second. That compares to 37.6 mgps as of last year.

HOW’S YOUR SPEED? Check this website for a speed test.

Numerous providers such as Ting Internet and Google Fiber have expanded in the Triangle, including 2 gigabits-per-second from Google Fiber. AT&T, Spectrum, CenturyLink and others have added morer service areas and speed. Highspeedinternet.com ranks Google Fiber No. 1 for speed.

Google Fiber recently upped its max speed offering to 2 gigabits based in part on growing consumer demand during the pandemic.

The Google Fiber team found that its customers in the state increased bandwidth demand by 32 percent in 2020. That’s according to Terrill Gosa, the senior director of engineering and operations for Google Fiber, who noted that growing demand in the pandemic has resulted in a “new normal.”

“In North Carolina, customers spent more time using educational platforms like Google Classroom and video conferencing services, like Zoom and Google Meet, as school and work moved online,” said Gosa.

Speed reports are based on proprietary speed tests from 1.3 million results.