On April 17, Ookla released its Market Report for the United States for the first quarter of 2023. According to Ookla, during the first quarter of the year, Charter Communications' Spectrum was ranked highest among fixed broadband services with download speeds of 234.8 Mbps. Comcast was a close second for fixed providers with speeds of 232.85 Mbps. For mobile providers, T-Mobile ranked first with download speeds of 165.22 Mbps, and Verizon Wireless was second at 74.5 Mbps. Oookla's Market Report provides additional breakdowns for both fixed and mobile services for consistency and latency and performance in supporting video services. The report also includes rankings for fixed broadband by region and for major cities as well as separate ranking among mobile providers for 5G performance and availability.
Coinciding with the release of its U.S. Market Report for Q1 2023, Ookla also released updated findings for March 2023. Ookla found that median upload/download speeds in the U.S. for last month were 197.84/23.02 Mbps for fixed broadband services, and 81.26/9.44 Mbps for mobile broadband services.
The Ookla report's speed findings for early 2023 are an indicator of continuing improvements in broadband service capabilities and network deployment in the United States. The report's findings also are a reflection of the federal light-touch regulatory framework for broadband Internet access services, which encourages private market investment and innovation. Future improvements in broadband access are best achievable by maintaining the pro-free market approach embodied in the FCC's 2017 Restoring Internet Freedom Order. Additionally, Congress and the Commission take further steps to build on the progress being made in this space. My January 2023 Perspectives from FSF Scholars, "The 2022 Communications Marketplace Report: Timely FCC Action Could Accelerate Next-Gen Broadband Deployment," identified three such steps: (1) prioritize the lower 3 GHz band and other spectrum bands for repurposing for commercial services; (2) adopt fee caps and "shot clocks" on deployments of wireline facilities in state and local rights-of-way; and (3) ensure equitable access to broadband by prohibiting intentional discrimination, and not by imposing disparate impact liability.
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