Fixed Internet speeds: Free is the fastest, according to the latest nPerf barometer

Free offered the best internet connection experience to its customers in 2022, according to the conclusions of a study conducted by nPerf.

nPerf published on January 20, 2023 its barometer of fixed internet connections in mainland France for the year 2022. Free is the big winner.

Free first on almost all measurements in very high speed and FTTH optical fiber

The Iliad subsidiary is performing better than its three competitors, both for all technologies combined and for FTTH fibre. In the first case, Free offers by far the best downlink speeds (274.17 Mbps on average), uplink speeds similar to those of Bouygues Telecom (183.29) and the lowest latency (20.16). According to the methodology used by nPerf, the operator has a total of 163,152 points. Bouygues Telecom is in second place, with a score of 161,479, and is followed by Orange with 158,868 points. SFR brings up the rear with 151,102 points.

The gaps narrow when we leave aside ADSL and VDSL to focus on FTTH fibre. Free remains the leader thanks to its performance in download speeds which reach almost 600 Mbps on average, while the three other operators oscillate between 450 and 480 Mbps. The telecom troublemaker also stands out on the upload speed and exceeds 400 Mbps on average, against 370 Mbps for Orange for example.

In terms of latency, Orange fiber customers are the best served, with an average of 11.45 ms. Free is in second place (12.59 ms), ahead of SFR (13.37 ms) and Bouygues Telecom (13.69 ms).

Bouygues Telecom is catching up on broadband

nPerf notes that fiber optics is becoming more and more common in French homes and specifies that almost 50% of speed tests are now carried out via an FTTH connection. This contributes to a marked improvement in average performance. Indeed, the average downlink rate measured is 237 Mbps in 2022, compared to 191 Mbps the previous year, an increase of 24%.

Finally, note that if Free impresses on very high speed and FTTH fiber optics, it is not the champion of more modest broadband connections. In this little game, Bouygues Telecom won, closely followed by Free and with an SFR lagging behind.

Source : nPerf