Ookla has released its latest 5G quality of experience data, analyzing page load speeds on three popular services in nine major countries during Q1 2024.
Page load and Latency
Page load speed, which measures how quickly a webpage fully displays its content, is crucial for a smooth internet browsing experience.
This metric is directly influenced by latency, the time it takes for a device to receive a response after sending a request. Lower latency, promised by 5G technology, is expected to significantly enhance page load speeds compared to 4G.
Global Latency Statistics
According to Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index in May 2024, mobile latency averages 27 milliseconds (0.027 seconds) globally for 5G and 9 milliseconds (0.009 seconds) for fixed broadband.
High latency can delay webpage loads significantly, with research indicating that a delay of more than 3 seconds can lead 40% of users to abandon a site.
5G Performance Across Countries
Ookla’s analysis confirms that 5G generally delivers faster page load speeds than 4G across all services tested in the surveyed countries. However, the degree of improvement varies by region as follows:
India
In India, 5G demonstrated notable improvements over 4G in page load speeds across Google, YouTube, and Facebook during Q1 2024. Specifically, Google loaded 23% faster, YouTube 32% faster, and Facebook 33% faster on 5G compared to 4G.
However, India ranked among the slowest for Facebook page loads over 5G among all countries studied by Ookla.
Other Countries
- Brazil: 5G showed a 20-30% faster page load speed compared to 4G.
- Canada: Recorded one of the fastest 5G page load speeds across Google, YouTube, and Facebook.
- France: Experienced a 14-20% increase in page load speed with 5G over 4G.
- Mexico: 5G improved page load speeds by 26-28% over 4G.
- Nigeria: Showed up to 47% faster page load speeds with 5G compared to 4G.
- South Africa: Witnessed 22-36% faster page load speeds on average with 5G, although Google and YouTube loading speeds were slower compared to other countries.
- United States: Enjoyed 21-26% faster page load speeds on 5G across all services compared to 4G.
Ookla’s analysis of Q1 2024 data reaffirms that 5G technology generally delivers on its promise of faster page load speeds compared to 4G across various services and countries.
However, disparities in speed improvements highlight the influence of local network conditions and infrastructure.