Singapore has world’s fastest peak internet connection speeds but No 2 Hong Kong has higher rate of broadband adoption

Hong Kong ranked No. 2 globally in terms of peak connection speeds in the second quarter of 2015, according to a report released last month.

With peak speeds of 94.8 megabits per second (Mbps),the city trailed only Singapore (108.3 Mbps), according to the report by content delivery network provider Akamai Technologies.

When a similar report was issued about 18 months ago, Hong Kong took first place in terms of fastest average internet speeds.

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However, the city still boasts the highest rate of broadband adoption at 93 per cent, compared to 86 per cent for Singapore, the highly developed island state with which it maintains a quiet rivalry in many areas.

The information in the report was calculated by measuring the highest connection speed from each unique IP address in that particular country or region and finding the average rate.

Although Hong Kong rated highly, residents who live in its outlying islands have expressed dissatisfaction with their broadband internet service.

Comparable speeds there average around 4.59 Mbps, just a fraction of what people living in the city can expect.

A recent poll conducted by the South China Morning Post also found that 63 per cent of respondents living in Hong Kong were unhappy with their internet speeds.

The Chinese mainland ranked at the bottom of the Asia-Pacific region in terms of peak connection speeds with a median reading of just 18.4 Mbps and a broadband adoption of 28 per cent.

Beijing has vowed to invest over US$193 billion within the next two years to improve the country’s network infrastructure and ramp up Web speeds.

In terms of average connection speed, Hong Kong also takes second spot at 17 Mbps behind South Korea (23.1 Mbps).

Singapore registered 12.7 Mbps and China a measly 3.4 Mbps, again one of the lowest rates in the region.