Announcing Loaded Latency in Ookla® Open Data

In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ookla® released our open performance datasets to make our rich database of fixed and mobile network performance available to those who are trying to improve the state of networks worldwide. Each quarter, we update this dataset and make it freely accessible to provide an ongoing, public record of the health and evolution of internet connectivity and accessibility. 

Organizations such as the European Commission, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the United Nations, as well as other think tanks and universities have published detailed analyses and recommendations based on this data. There is still much work to be done to ensure every individual in every country has access to adequate and affordable internet in order to work, learn, play, and seek medical treatment, whether they reside in the densest city or remote countryside. According to Omdia, 27% of the world’s population is projected to remain unconnected by 2026.

While we must not lose sight of the critical work to be done to connect those that are un- and under-served today, we must also look to the future. The connectivity use cases of tomorrow will be powered by real-time, immersive experiences, and data is needed by those building and researching new connected experiences to understand the level of responsiveness networks can support today. We are pleased to announce that we are extending our open performance dataset to include additional measures of responsiveness: latency under load for both saturated downlink and uplink. Our Q4 2022 datasets now include loaded latency measurements in Apache Parquet format for network researchers, data scientists, GIS professionals, and hobbyists to analyze and understand more completely the global state of network responsiveness. These measures will continue to be a part of the future performance datasets, updated each quarter for fixed and mobile networks.

We are excited to read the research that can be conducted using these additional data points. Network responsiveness under load can range from excellent to abysmal depending on the network technology, equipment, location, and provider. While our open data provides a digestible, global dataset optimized for spatial analysis, we understand different research projects will have different goals, asking questions that may not be well supported by the available formats. We are committed to supporting academic research institutions seeking to understand the global state of network responsiveness and how it affects nascent and emerging communications technologies. Therefore, we will continue to make additional Speedtest Intelligence® data and other enterprise solutions available to qualified individuals and institutions through our Ookla for Good™ program to further this objective.

To those that have included our open data in their published works: thank you. We believe access to a sufficient, reliable internet connection is a fundamental human right. There is no greater reward than seeing our data driving awareness and policy to change inequities in access to connectivity. We can’t wait to see what you’ll do next. If you’re interested in learning more about the Ookla for Good program, please inquire here.