According to Akamai Technologies' (NASDAQ:AKAM) "Third Quarter, 2014 State of the Internet Report," the global broadband adoption rate has reached 60%. Akamai defines "broadband" as 4 Mbps or greater, "high broadband" as 10 Mbps or greater, and "4K Ready" as 15 Mbps or greater.
For the second consecutive quarter, the global average connection speed remained above the 4 Mbps threshold; however, it saw a slight decline in the third quarter of 2014, dropping 2.8% to 4.5 Mbps. Global average peak connection speeds dropped by 2.3% to 24.8 Mbps. Some 12% of global connections were at or above 15 Mbps.