For all the talk about North Carolina becoming a “Gigabit State” with high-speed fiber service looming from AT&T and possibly from Google and the state-wide North Carolina Research and Education Network, new data show that we’ve got a long way to go before our state even catches up to Latvia.

And if you are eager to buy a 4K TV for “ultra high definition,” your network provider just might not be able to deliver.

Broadband technology firm Akamai’s new report on global and U.S. broadband availability documents North Carolina’s need for faster broadband service. The Tar Heel state isn’t even in the top 10 – and the U.S. ranks seventh globally. But take heart, Americans, we are only 1 percentage point behind Latvia!

data is based on statistics gathered from the first quarter of this year.

Read the stats – and weep.

Globally, 21 percent of Internet connections average 10 megabits of speed or better. The top 10 countries based on percentages of connections about that 10 benchmark:

1. South Korea, 77%

2. Japan, 54%

3. Switzerland, 45%

4. Netherlands, 44%

5. Hong Kong, 43%

6. Latvia, 37%

7. U.S., 36%

8. Denmark, 35%

9. Belgium, 35%

10. Czech republic, 34%

U.S. Top Ten

Here is the top 10 U.S. states with average broadband capability above 4 megabits per second – which is a far cry from gigabit speed, let along standard Internet broadband of about 10 mbps:

State, percentage above 4 mbps, change from previous quarter; change year-over-year: 

1. Delaware 92%; -3.0%; 2.2%
2. Rhode Island 92%; -0.2%; 7.5%
3. Hawaii 87%; 0.1%; 26%
4. Connecticut 85%; 0.5%; 7.0%
5. New Hampshire 84%; -1.2%; -6.6%
6. Massachusetts 83%; <0.1%; 5.4%
7. South Dakota 83%; 0.8%; 14%
8. New York 82%; -0.5%; 1.4%
9. Florida 81%; -0.3%; 10%
10. New Jersey 81%; -1.6%; 9.8%

The 4K Revolution?

The statistics are no better for 4K. Again, North Carolina isn’t in the top 10.

State, percentage above 15 mbps; change from previous quarter; change year-over-year:

1. Massachusetts 27%; 6.8%; 64%
2. Delaware 26%; 26%; 73%
3. New Hampshire 24%; 13%; 35%
4. Rhode Island 24%; 38%; 167%
5. Washington 22%; 21%; 63%
6. District Of Columbia 22%; 7.5%; 27%
7. Virginia 21%; 7.1%; 66%
8. New Jersey 21%; 9.1%; 99%
9. Michigan 21%; 40%; 169%
10. Pennsylvania 21%; 20%; 75%

The statistics don’t lie.

The North Carolina Next Generation Network, AT&T U-verse with GiagaPower, RST Fiber and Google Fiber services can’t come to N.C. fast enough.

We are a long way behind – but maybe within a couple of years North Carolina will crack the top 10 – and the U.S. might even pass Latvia!

The entire Akami report can be read online.