Alex Tretbar contributed to this article
It’s already well known that many Verizon ISP subscribers have encountered issues with streaming Netflix. What you might not know, however, is that the U.S. is one of the slower nations in the world when it comes to average Netflix streaming speeds. That’s according to data compiled by the company itself. This information is based on data put collected on Netflix activity spanning from June to July of this year.
Related: Verizon is the worst ISP in the U.S. for Netflix, streaming video titan says
In an official Netflix post entitled “Global Averages Graph,” Netflix’s data indicates that the nation’s average streaming speed is 2.23MBps. That’s towards the bottom end of the ladder, and is right behind Colombia, Brazil, and Chile. Those nations have average Netflix streaming speeds of 2.25MBps, 2.31MBps, and 2.33MBps, respectively.
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The five countries getting the best Netflix streaming speeds are all located in Europe. The fastest is the Netherlands, followed by Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and the United Kingdom. Those countries have average Netflix streaming speeds of 3.61MBps, 3.35MBps, 3.26MBps, 3.18MBps, and 3.01MBps, respectively.
Of the bottom five nations on the list, three of them are in South America. They’re Argentina, Jamaica, Peru, Ecuador, and Costa Rica. Those nations have average Netflix streaming speeds of 2.04MBps, 1.79MBps, 1.74MBps, 1.63MBps, and 1.48MBps.
When looking at each European nation’s individual ISPs and their own average speeds, the difference between the top- and bottom-ranking providers in each country is often .5 Mbps or less. This forms a stark contrast with the 2 Mbps-plus difference from first to last in the U.S. rankings.
Many variables are likely at play in determining the final figures that show up in these monthly indexes from Netflix, but one can argue that, at least here in the U.S., the ongoing battle over fast lanes, and the bribes that open them up, could be a hugely influential factor. Earlier this year Comcast managed to jump six slots in one month’s time after sealing a payola-style agreement with the video-streamer, then it jumped another two spots to land in third place on the monthly index. And just two weeks ago, Netflix agreed to pay AT&T in exchange for faster streaming speeds for its subscribers.
Fortunately, if you reside in the U.S and find your Netflix streaming speeds to be underwhelming, there’s a trick you can try to get around that. Check out our guide on how to speed up Netflix access by setting up a VPN.
