Most of World's Airports Miss FCC Speed Benchmarks: Ookla
Ookla found “significant internet performance disparities for both Wi-Fi and mobile” at airports, it said in a survey released Tuesday. The report noted that connectivity is now something travelers expect.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
“Several U.S. airports delivered strong Wi-Fi performance in Q1 2025, including San Francisco (196.11 Mbps download/235.74 upload), Phoenix (170.65/183.03) and Chicago O’Hare (165.76/ 212.86),” Ookla said. In North America, “mobile speeds were more mixed. Phoenix (274.73/22.16) performed well, while San Francisco (147.09/17.37) fell just short on upload.”
Ookla reported that only three airports worldwide met the FCC’s 100/20 Mbps benchmark for Wi-Fi and mobile: Phoenix Sky Harbor International, Hangzhou Xiaoshan International in China and Toronto Pearson International. Among the 48 airports with sufficient mobile data, 21 met or exceeded the FCC benchmark, compared with just 12 of 41 for Wi-Fi, it said. “This trend suggests mobile carriers may be prioritizing high-traffic locations like airports.”