Myrtle Beach metro area ranks No. 4 for slowest internet in U.S. for 2021

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - The Myrtle Beach metro area ranks No. 4 in the U.S. for slowest internet in 2021.

Data from over 1.3 million speed test results were used to analyze and rank average speeds by HighSpeedInternet.com.

Officials with HTC said there are three parts mainly impacting WiFi speed in Myrtle Beach:

• Location - Best speed is created when placed in the central part of the home. Don’t tuck it away in the bedroom or closet.
• Interference - All of the wireless devices leaning on the WiFi at once. Turn off multiple devices when experiencing slow internet.
• Being aware of the equipment

”The WiFi world and speeds are constantly evolving, changing. Even devices from two or three years ago - iPhone 5 or 6 - they physically aren’t capable of pulling the amount of WiFi an iPhone 11 or 12 would be able to,” HTC’s Leslie Causey said.

South Carolina representatives have been pushing for million dollar broadband expansion for months. HTC is also working to help bridge the divide.

Causey said they’re working with federal and state agencies to get money to help bridge the digital divide.

Digging deeper into the divide, Causey said all of Horry County has access to 300 MBPS whereas rural areas lack adequate speeds.

There are two maps of speed indicators HTC provided to show areas of need and what each areas has access to within the district.

Causey said working from home and slow internet experienced over the past year have helped to bring these issues to light.

”It came about that there were these districts where students can’t access internet, students physically couldn’t work from home,” Causey said. “There are places on the map that with show you, no one there is no internet connection they have to physically drive to a library or facility.”

Causey said in addition to the money the internet provider is expanding to parts of the district seeing the slowest speeds.

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