Peak Internet speeds on the rise in U.S., but states with large rural populations still lag far behind

Delaware has the fastest average peak Internet speed in the nation, and 43 states "saw average peak connection speeds grow between the third and fourth quarters of 2014," says the State of the Internet report by Akamai Technologies, Niraj Chokshi reports for The Washington Post. However, several states with large rural populations continue to have significantly lower average peak speeds, with Kentucky leading the way with the worst average peak Internet speed in the U.S.

Delaware's average peak speeds are 75.4 megabits per second. Following Delaware are Virginia (73.5), Washington, D.C. (65.9), Massachusetts (65.5), Rhode Island (64.6), North Dakota (61.9), Utah (60.2), New York (59.8), New Jersey (59.4) and Connecticut (57.9). On the opposite spectrum was rural America, led by Kentucky at 34 megabits per second, Arkansas (35.1), New Mexico (35.5), Idaho (37.2), Mississippi (37.3), Alaska (37.7,), Louisiana (39.4), Maine (40.4), West Virginia (42.1) and Iowa (42.4). (Read more) (Post map)