When it comes to flying these days, few things are free anymore. But free Wi-Fi is still a perk worth enjoying and a new analysis by Seattle-based Ookla ranks the best airports in North America when it comes to speed and reliability.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport has taken over the top spot, unseating Denver International, which held the title for fastest free Wi-Fi in the U.S. and Canada the previous two years.
Sea-Tac’s download speeds jumped from 43.66 Mbps in 2017 to 103.00 Mbps in 2018. The testing and analysis was run on Ookla’s flagship application, Speedtest, from January through April of this year.
Sea-Tac is also now faster than the other global winners recognized in Ookla’s 2017 report, including Gold Coast Airport in Australia, Congonhas-São Paulo Airport in Brazil, Dubai International, Seoul Incheon International Airport in South Korea, Sheremetyevo International Airport in Russia and Mohammed V International Airport in Morocco.
A number of airports saw significant declines in Wi-Fi speeds, according to Ookla, including: Detroit (58.9 percent decline), Miami (27.1 percent decline) and Dallas Fort Worth (25.6 percent decline).
“Nothing improves a traveler’s trip quite like reliably fast Wi-Fi can,” Ookla co-founder and GM Doug Suttles said in a news release. “What our comprehensive analysis shows is that surprisingly only a few airports across the U.S. and Canada have recognized just what an impact this can have. Wi-Fi speed can make all the difference for the business traveler finalizing a presentation or a family downloading videos to keep their kids occupied.”
