Mississippi internet speed: second slowest, beating only Alaska
Mississippi has the second-slowest average internet speeds in the nation, a new report finds, beating only Alaska.
The analysis said Mississippi's average speed was about 24.8 megabits per second — about 40 percent slower than the national average, with some top-performing states, such as Maryland and New Jersey, clocking in with speeds more than twice as fast.
The report was conducted by HighSpeedInternet.com, a site that allows users to check their internet speeds and search for providers. It said it compiled 1 million internet speed tests from around the country to get the results.
The results are similar to other analyses. Another internet research company, BroadbandNow, puts the Magnolia State as second to last when factoring in average speed as well as internet availability, beating only Montana. Federal Communications Commission data shows similar gaps between Mississippi coverage, especially in rural areas, compared with other states.
State officials hope Mississippi's poor coverage and speeds can gradually increase after the Legislature passed a bill earlier this year allowing rural electric cooperatives to offer high-speed fiber internet.
It remains unclear how many of the co-ops will take advantage and provide high-speed broadband to their customers, and how long many of the projects might take to roll out.
Here are the states with the fastest and slowest internet speeds, according to the report.
Fastest internet speeds
1. Maryland (65.02 Mbps)
2. New Jersey (59.68 Mbps)
3. Delaware (59.08 Mbps)
4. Rhode Island (56.77 Mbps)
5. Virginia (55.98 Mbps)
Slowest internet speeds
1. Alaska (17.03 Mbps)
2. Mississippi (24.77 Mbps)
3. Idaho (25.30 Mbps)
4. Montana (25.70 Mbps)
5. Maine (26.05 Mbps)
More:Rural internet bill passes Miss. Legislature, but don't expect blazing speeds just yet
More:Will co-ops really provide high-speed internet to rural Miss. if Legislature changes the law?
More:Rural internet bill is law
Contact Luke Ramseth at 601-961-7050 or lramseth@gannett.com. Follow @lramseth on Twitter. Please support our work at the Clarion Ledger by subscribing.
