The OECD report identifies significant disparities in broadband connectivity across its member countries from 2019 to 2024, despite progress in overall access. On average, OECD countries exhibited over double the fixed broadband penetration compared to the global average. Medians for fixed and mobile broadband speeds revealed that metropolitan areas outperformed rural areas significantly. Reportedly, download speeds increased overall, but the performance gap widened between geographical regions. These figures indicate that while connectivity efforts are advancing, further policy initiatives are essential to ensure equitable access for all.
OECD members, on average, had more than twice the level of fixed broadband penetration — 36.3 subscribers per 100 inhabitants — than the world average of 16.2 per 100 in June 2024.
Median fixed broadband download speeds in metropolitan regions were 43.8% higher than those for people living far from metropolitan areas at the end of 2024.
People living in cities experienced overall mobile broadband download speeds 37.2% higher than in rural areas. The OECD average in cities at the end of 2024 was 74.5 Mbps compared with 54.3 Mbps in rural areas.
Despite overall increases in median fixed and mobile download speeds across all regions between 2019 and 2024, the gap between the fastest and slowest speeds widened.
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