New York has more global internet capacity than any other city.
According to a new survey, it has 43 per cent more bandwidth than the second-placed city, London.
Telecoms research firm Telegeography says New York's lead stems from the fact it has become a hub for inter-continental connections.
"It's because New York is really the meeting place for backbones between Europe and the United States," says Ms Jessica Marantz, Telegeography's director of business development.
She adds that many large ISPs are based there, a factor that adds to capacity.
Most bandwidth between continents is funnelled on to undersea 'backbone' cables that link the world's major hubs.
New York is the landing site for more than a dozen of these cables.
Terrestrial cables and satellites also carry significant internet capacity.
Amsterdam, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo, Washington DC, Miami, Los Angeles and Copenhagen follow New York and London in Telegeography's list.
AP