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Where to Find the Fastest Wi-Fi on the Road

If you’ve got a need for (Internet) speed, a new report from Wefi can tell you which airports, hotel chains, and even beaches are best when it comes to connectivity.

The company, which collects and measures mobile data, tracked 45 million hot spots from April 1 to June 15, 2014. What they found was that the biggest and most popular destinations often don’t crack the top 10.

Leading the pack of airports, Detroit wins for fastest Wi-Fi, with an average speed of 4.63 mbps. (This writer can attest to the decent Internet speeds at Detroit Metro, for she once spent an entire eight-hour delay there successfully streaming Friday Night Lights.) The Red Roof Inns chain tops the hotel category, with an average speed of 4.34 mbps. And, for beach seekers who like to pack a laptop (who are you?), Clearwater Beach, Florida, is your hot spot in the sun (although beachside Wi-Fi speeds are low across the board).

Here is the complete list of airports, hotels, and beaches with the fastest Wi-Fi. Click to see an infographic with more stats.

Top Airports with the Fastest Wi-Fi:

  1. Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Michigan (4.63 mbps)
  2. Denver International Airport, Colorado (4.33 mbps)
  3. Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Florida (3.74 mbps)
  4. Los Angeles International Airport, California (3.29 mbps)
  5. Washington Dulles International Airport, Virginia (3.09 mbps)
  6. Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport, Arizona (2.88 mbps)
  7. LaGuardia Airport, New York (2.67 mbps)
  8. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Georgia (2.66 mbps)
  9. Logan International Airport, Massachusetts (2.51 mbps)
  10. Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, Minnesota (2.45 mbps)
  11. McCarran International Airport, Nevada (2.41 mbps)
  12. San Francisco International Airport, California (2.29 mbps)

Top Hotels with the Fastest Wi-Fi:

  1. Red Roof Inns (4.34 mbps)
  2. Sleep Inn (4.14 mbps)
  3. Ramada (3.69 mbps)
  4. Holiday Inn (3.68 mbps)
  5. Best Western (3.66 mbps)
  6. Aloft Hotels (3.42 mbps)
  7. Studio 6 (3.22 mbps)
  8. Hilton (3.17 mbps)
  9. Quality Inns (3.15 mbps)
  10. Four Points by Sheraton (3.04 mbps)
  11. Comfort Inn (2.99 mbps)
  12. Candlewood Suites (2.69 mbps)
  13. Radisson (2.43 mbps)
  14. Clarion (2.42 mbps)
  15. Doubletree Hotel (2.32 mbps)

Top Beaches with the Fastest Wi-Fi:

  1. Clearwater Beach, Florida (2.9 mbps)
  2. Atlantic City, New Jersey (2.8 mbps)
  3. Mission Beach, California (2.1 mbps)
  4. South Beach Miami, Florida (1.9 mbps)
  5. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (1.8 mbps)
  6. Santa Monica, California (1.8 mbps)
  7. Waikiki Beach, Hawaii (1.6 mbps)
  8. Newport Beach, California (1.2 mbps)
  9. Hermosa Beach, California (1.1 mbps)

Readers, do you choose destinations based on Wi-Fi connectivity?

(Photos: Wefi and Gwyneth Anne Bronwynne Jones via flickr/CC Attribution/Share Alike)

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