Cloud optimizer Akamai released the Akamai State of the Internet Report for Q3, 2010 which reports internet speed statistics based on requests the Akamai network receives. In Q3 over 533 million unique IP addresses from 235 countries/regions, connected to the Akamai network, 20% more than the same quarter a year ago.

“Annual growth was strong as well, with seven of the top 10 countries experiencing double digit percentage increases. Notably, China grew by over 30% in the last year, adding approximately 15 million unique IP addresses.”

Mobile internet consumption grew as well, with 101 of the 111 ISPs listed with Akamai, and Russia took the first spot with the highest average connection speed – 6 Mbps. A Slovakian provider topped the list with an average peak connection speed of nearly 23 Mbps, and t he U.S in turn took the lead as the top source of observed attack traffic. Taiwan’s 24% growth compared to Q2 2010 was the most significant among the top 10 countries, and the South Korean cities of Taegu, Taejon and Masan were officially the fastest cities in the world.

The speed stats were quite interesting, especially comparing on a country-to-country level.  In reviewing the top 100 fastest cities around the world based on average connection speeds during the third quarter of 2010, the report reveals the following findings:

• Cities in Asia overwhelmingly continued to dominate the top 100 list, once again accounting for three-quarters of the list, with 61 cities in Japan and 13 cities in South Korea and Hong Kong
• After several quarters in first place, Masan, South Korea fell to third place globally, bested by South Korean cities Taegu and Taejon
• Constanta, Romania ranked as the fastest city in Europe (#48 out of 100)
• Only thirteen U.S. cities made the list, with San Jose, CA ranking as the fastest U.S. city (#57 out of 100)

In the third quarter, the city view of average peak connection speeds in the U.S. was again dominated by cities on the West Coast. The Boston Metro area was the sole East Coast location to be included in the top 10.

Grasping what’s going on in the world, when it comes to connectivity, can really help gauge which areas to focus business efforts, developing services and campaigns that align with global access and interest.  JiWire has also release some reports that offer insight to worldwide connectivity, focusing on the hotspots in their network.  Previous Akamai updates, however, reached deeper into the cloud, and SiliconANGLE was there to cover Akamai’s and Rackspace’s new partnership. We also discussed an earlier holiday-driven spin by the comapny which reported just how prone online retailers usually are to cyber attacks.