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Whether it’s provided by national governments, telecom and internet service companies, or big businesses and organizations, free public WiFi has become common almost everywhere — in busy public spaces like parks and beaches, and in government offices, universities, and hospitals.
Because it’s free, connection speed tends to move in the opposite direction of how many people are using it, and that in turn depends a lot on a country’s level of development, wealth, and population. Myanmar has public WiFi zones too — you’ll find them at Shwedagon Pagoda, Sule Pagoda, and at universities across the country, though the experience using them isn’t always smooth. Some countries, on the other hand, have built out strong, fast public WiFi coverage nationwide, letting citizens get free internet access almost anywhere. Based on a report shared via Internet Journal, here’s a look at the countries with the fastest public WiFi in the world.
WiFi technology itself has only been around for about two decades, but demand for high-speed public access has surged in just the past few years. Today, products can connect to the internet with ease thanks to millions of public hotspots worldwide. Some analysts even predict that the number of hotspots worldwide will grow eightfold by 2018, reaching as many as 300 million. Along with rising demand for hotspots, people are also increasingly expecting fast connection speeds — fast enough to stream video without buffering and to upload or download large amounts of data.
The countries listed below are the five with the fastest public WiFi, according to data from RottenWiFi. Notably, the United States — home to internet providers like Comcast — doesn’t make the list.
Lithuania
Topping the list of countries with the fastest public WiFi is Lithuania, with an average download speed of 16.6 Mbps — nearly twice as fast as the United States.
Singapore
Singapore’s average public WiFi speed comes in at 15.5 Mbps. The Singapore government runs a program called Wireless@SG, offering free public WiFi through thousands of hotspots across the country. The government has announced plans to double the number of hotspots nationwide to 20,000 by 2018.
Switzerland
In Switzerland, both locals and visitors can access public WiFi in public spaces such as parks, beaches, and museums, with an average speed of 13.8 Mbps.
Denmark
In Denmark, free public WiFi hotspots are connected via streetlights across the country. The program is part of a broader “smart cities” initiative, developed in partnership with Cisco in Copenhagen, and offers an average speed of 12 Mbps.
UK
The UK also makes the top five, even as its government continues pushing to upgrade the country’s connectivity infrastructure. Reportedly, these hotspots are nearly 100 times faster than the average download speed currently available across the UK.