Report: US Cities encounter disparities in game download speed between them

A report published by downloadable content delivery provider Pando Networks has discovered wide disparities between download speeds and completion rates for gaming content across various American locales.

In a study Pando conducted which analysed 4 million gamers' game and patch downloads in the first half of 2011, the firm found rural customers speeds were slower than their urban counterparts. Sometimes download speeds averaged around 10 times worse in rural areas than those in the fastest US cities.

Panda Networks cited the posh Boston suburb Andover as an example, revealing that it saw average download speeds over 2,800 KBps, which was a LOT faster than Idaho's statewide average of just 318KBps.

The report revealed that slower download speeds often left rural customers unable to complete an attempted download after starting, potentially affecting publishers' ability to reach those customers with their online content.

All was not lost, however, as some exceptions to this phenomenon were discovered. Hawaiian users, for instance, completed 87 percent of all attempted downloads despite relatively slow speeds, while users in Washington DC completed only 80 percent of downloads despite high average speeds.

Comcast subscribers clocked the highest download speeds with an average download speed of 890KBps, with Verizon (788KBps), Cox (757KBps) and Road runner (673KBps) coming in second, third and fourth place respectively.

AT&T offered the best mobile download speeds, clocking an average of 416 KBps, while Sprint's took second-place offering 391KBps.

Pando has provided a couple of interactive maps to measure average download speeds and download completion rates by state to help you find out about your connection speed.

Thanks, Gamasutra.