Broadband consumers are increasingly subscribing to gigabit internet plans, lured by promises of lightning-fast streaming, instant downloads, and seamless video conferencing. Yet, real-world usage patterns tell a different story. Despite higher subscription tiers, buffering during video streaming, slow cloud uploads, and frozen video calls remain common. This gap between the speeds marketed and the experience delivered reflects a systemic flaw in how connectivity is measured and discussed. The industry has long focused on the capacity of the network reaching the building, yet Opensignal’s July 30, 2025 report, “Experienced Speed Tiers vs. Subscribed Speed Tiers: The Bottleneck of Home Wi-Fi,” demonstrates that the true constraint often lies within the home network itself.
The Data Paints a Troubling Picture
Opensignal’s global analysis shows just how wide the gap can be. In Spain, gigabit access is nearly universal, yet only 56% of users experience even 100 Mbps over Wi-Fi. The United States and Canada look stronger, with 55% of U.S. households and 47% in Canada reaching 250 Mbps or more, but that still leaves half the population underperforming compared to their subscriptions. Meanwhile, in countries like Mexico, India, and Indonesia, the situation is even more stark — just 5%, 2%, and near zero percent of users, respectively, ever see 250 Mbps in practice.
Even the European Union, with 82.5% of households covered by Very High-Capacity Networks, shows how infrastructure alone can’t guarantee experience. Only 22.3% of households subscribe to gigabit plans, and even fewer actually achieve those speeds. Spain, despite having nearly 96% of connections over fiber or cable, sees just 37% of users hitting 250 Mbps on Wi-Fi. Italy and Germany fare worse, at 17% and 13% respectively. Canada is a rare bright spot, where 66% of users enjoy 100 Mbps or more — proof that it’s possible to align the promise and the delivery.
Why We’re Stuck in Second Gear
The villain here isn’t just marketing hype or underinvestment in backbone networks.
The true culprit is often an outdated Wi-Fi equipment and poorly optimized home networks.
Many households still rely on routers built to the decade-old Wi-Fi 4 standard (802.11n) or use entry-level gateways incapable of sustaining the multi-hundred-megabit speeds their plans allow.
In Brazil, 62% of users are held back by equipment that struggles to reach speeds of 100 Mbps or more. In Mexico, it’s 57%, and in Indonesia, 35%. Even in Spain, Italy, and Germany, only between 59% and 68% of users connect through Wi-Fi 5 or newer, meaning a sizable share of homes are still handicapped by older standards. Adoption of Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7, particularly with the high-capacity 6 GHz band, is progressing slowly, often stymied by device and router mismatches. In other words, the digital divide isn’t just between rural and urban areas, or rich and poor countries — it’s between those who’ve modernized their in-home Wi-Fi and those who haven’t.
Why This Matters for Policy and the Market
Most official broadband reports from telecom operators measure infrastructure deployment or advertised subscription speeds. That’s useful for policymaking, but it doesn’t capture what people actually experience when they connect.
Opensignal data indicates that you can have world-class fiber outside your home and still get an experience that feels stuck in 2015.
The implications are significant. Governments pushing for “universal gigabit access” need to understand that the battle doesn’t end at the curb. Providers that advertise gigabit service without ensuring customers have compatible routers and devices are setting themselves up for customer frustration and churn. And consumers themselves need to recognize that buying a faster plan won’t help if their Wi-Fi can’t deliver it to their laptop, phone, or smart TV.
Closing the Gap Between Promise and Reality
The solution requires a mindset shift. Households that invest in modern Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 7 routers, ensure devices are up-to-date, and position their equipment to reduce interference can often double or triple their actual experienced speeds — without changing their internet plan. ISPs could lead the charge by bundling capable hardware with their top-tier plans and proactively helping customers optimize their networks. Policymakers, meanwhile, should incorporate experience-based benchmarks into connectivity targets, so that “gigabit” means something tangible in daily life.
Maravedis is an independent research and analysis firm founded in 2002. We focus on managed connectivity and the convergence of WiFi with 5G/6G. We are recognized for our long-standing collaboration with the Wireless Broadband Alliance and our relationships with MSPs and ISPs.
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