Here’s something we’d not seen before. Netflix, on its media blog, runs a monthly chart that measures the performance of internet service providers. What it’s looking for its to determine with which ISP you get the best level of Netflix streaming service. It makes interesting reading.
Firstly, Switzerland is the country to move to if you want the best performance, with streaming rates of 4.32Mbps on average. Belgium, the Netherlands and Austria aren’t too far behind. The UK doesn’t make the top 10, with its rate sitting at 3.75Mbps.
Breaking down the UK numbers further, Netflix has put together an ISP leaderboard. Given that you either get your broadband in the UK via cable (Virgin Media, basically), or an ISP based on BT infrastructure, the results aren’t massively surprising…
- Virgin (3.99Mbps speed)
- BT (3.91Mbps)
- Plusnet (3.66Mbps)
- EE (3.58Mbps)
- TalkTalk (3.51Mbps)
- Sky (3.50Mbps).
Again, just to give you a point of comparison, the fastest ISP in Switzerland – currently Improware, that’s just snagged the top slot from Quickline – will get Netflix materials to your screen at a rate of 4.45Mbps.
To quote Netflix on what it’s looking for with its numbers, “The Netflix ISP Speed Index is a measure of prime time Netflix performance on a particular ISP and not a measure of overall performance for other services/data that may travel across the specific ISP network. Faster Netflix performance generally means better picture quality, quicker start times and fewer interruptions”.
You can test your own internet speed by going to www.fast.com