Netflix hits December streaming peak

December 28 was the largest streaming day of the year in 2014, topping what is historically the heaviest month for viewing, according to Netflix’s latest ISP Speed Index.

Breaking down the performance of internet service providers in each of the countries where it is live, Netflix revealed that the highest average internet speed in any of these countries was Luxembourg at 3.96 Megabits per second (Mbps).

Here, service provider Luxembourg Online held the top spot with an average speed of 4.10 Mbps, while Numericable overtook Post Luxembourg to take second place with average speeds of 4.04 Mbps.

The second fastest Netflix-live internet market in December was Switzerland with average internet speeds of 3.95 Mbps. In this market, Improware jumped Quickline to take top spot with an average web speed of 4.35 Mbps – the fastest of any ISP measured by Netflix.

Other high performing countries on the index were Belgium with an average web speed of 3.84 Mbps, the Netherlands with an average of 3.78 Mbps and Denmark and Sweden with averages of 3.63 Mbps.

In Sweden, Bredband2 gained strong ground in December, jumping two spots to number three in the rankings with average speeds of 3.80 Mbps, up from 3.65 Mbps in November.

Meanwhile in the UK, where the internet average is 3.23 Mbps, Virgin Media, BT and BSkyB held their positions as first, second and third fastest providers respectively. However TalkTalk overtook EE to take fourth place.

In the US, Netflix said that despite the heavy demand, it saw “continued increases in average speeds across the largest ISPs”, with Verizon FiOS topping the list at 3.36 Mbps.

“The Netflix ISP Speed Index is a measure of prime time Netflix performance on a particular ISP and not a measure of overall performance for other services/data that may travel across the specific ISP network,” said Netflix.

“Faster Netflix performance generally means better picture quality, quicker start times and fewer interruptions.”