How fast is the 4G network speed in various countries around the world? The fastest is not South Korea

After the deployment of 4G LTE networks began, mobile operators in various countries and regions advertised them as "fast" or even "super fast", but the speed of 4G network connections varies greatly in different parts of the world.

Network diagnostics company OpenSignal recently released a report on 4G network quality, and obtained relevant data through its application. OpenSignal users can test the quality of their Wi-Fi and mobile networks, continuously detect what network the user's phone is using, such as 2G, 3G or 4G, and then feed back real-time information to OpenSignal. OpenSignal strategic analyst Samuel Johnston said that the OpenSignal application has more than 250,000 users in the United States alone.

The OpenSignal report shows that the 4G network connection speed and quality of mobile phone users around the world are different. The 4G speed in the United States is relatively low, only comparable to the 4G network speeds in the Philippines and Mexico, at about 7 megabits per second (7 Mbps). In contrast, according to data released by broadband network detection service company Ookla, the average connection speed of the US wired network is 22 Mbps.

According to OpenSignal's report, among the US mobile operators, T-Mobile's network has the fastest download speed, reaching 10 megabits per second, while the slowest operator in the world is Cricket Wireless, which has only 2.94 megabits per second. However, this does not mean that the networks of these operators provide poor services. Johnston said: "When the network was first deployed, their speed was really fast, but as more and more users joined, the network speed slowed down."

Johnston said that among countries and regions around the world, Spain had the fastest average 4G download speed, reaching 18.24 megabits per second, while South Korea's 4G network was "impressive", not only with one of the fastest download speeds (16.59 megabits per second), but also able to connect to 4G networks 95% of the time tested by the OpenSignal app. In other words, Korean mobile users only fell to 3G or 2G networks 5% of the time. Meanwhile, US mobile networks were able to provide 4G networks 77% of the time.

Of course, 4G speeds also vary between operators within each country. For example, although Spain has the fastest average 4G download speeds, within the country, Vodafone's 4G network is the fastest, while Yoigo's 4G network is much slower.

According to OpenSignal's report, Taiwan's average 4G network download speed is 14.22 megabits per second, and Hong Kong's is 11.8 megabits per second. 4G speeds and services vary around the world, indicating that there is no unified standard for how fast 4G networks are, but OpenSignal found that the average 4G speed is still faster than Wi-Fi, with the global WiFi speed average being 4.4 megabits per second, while the global average speed of 4G networks is 9.3 megabits per second.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.