Ookla: South Carolina Tops Nation in a Rural Speed Category

WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2025 – South Carolina tops the nation in a broadband speed category involving rural users, according to a new report by Ookla.

According to Ookla Speedtest data from the first half of 2024, South Carolina saw the percentage of its rural residents’ receiving the FCC’s minimum standard for fixed broadband speeds (100 Mbps down/20 Mbps up) reach higher rates than that of urban residents in the state.

Rural South Carolinians hit this standard at a rate of 56.4%, where its urban counterparts saw a rate of 55.1% residents.

No other state was able to accomplish that feat. Several states, however, did out-perform South Carolina in its percentage of Speedtest users receiving the minimum standard. 

Ookla credited Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., and the state’s Broadband Director Jim Stritzinger for playing a constructive role in the state’s rural broadband success, thanks to their help in creating accurate maps of the state’s broadband performance.

 “I built a brand-new set of South Carolina maps that ignored advertised speeds and instead used likely available speeds based upon the best deployed technology and available Ookla data,” Stritzinger said. “The results were game-changing.”

In the full Ookla report, nine states were able to get 60% of its residents above the FCC’s minimum standard. States like New Mexico and Arizona saw over a 45% percent increase in its population with the minimum broadband speeds since the 2023 first half report.