Are homes ready to receive 4K over IP?

South Korea heads the list of the first 10 countries/regions whose connectivity would be prepared to receive Ultra High Definition. In Europe, three countries (Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden) make more than a fifth of their connections at speeds above 15 Mbps.

With adaptive bitrate 4K (Ultra HD) streams typically requiring between 10 and 20 Mbps of bandwidth, the new “4K Readiness” metric debuting in the Q1 2014 State of the Internet Report, powered by Akamai, highlights the percentage of connections at speeds greater than 15 Mbps, with the aim of identifying candidate geographies to be more likely to support such streams. The results do not account for other “readiness” factors, including the availability of 4K-encoded content or 4K-ready TVs and players.

Globally, 11 percent of connections were made at 15 Mbps or faster in the first quarter of 2014. With 60 percent of its connections to Akamai at 15 Mbps or faster, South Korea topped the list of the top 10 countries/regions in terms of 4K readiness, while Japan made 32 percent of its connections to Akamai. A total of six European countries made it into the top ten countries/regions; Switzerland (no. 4), Netherlands (no. 6), Sweden (no. 7), Norway (no. 8), Finland (no. 9) and Czech Republic (no. 10).

Within Europe, the top three countries (Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden) ran more than a fifth of their connections at speeds above 15 Mbps in the first quarter of 2014. At 23 percent, Switzerland's 4K readiness rate was the highest level seen in a European country, while the Czech Republic had the lowest 4K readiness rate at 17 percent.

Impressive annual changes in European countries point to increased adoption of high-speed broadband connectivity that will ultimately lead to higher levels of 4K readiness.