US Broadband Lags Asian Nations

CNNMoney.com is reporting that according to a study South Korea leads the world in providing broadband services. The United States did not make the top 10.

South Korea dramatically improved the speed, quality and availability of its Internet service in 2009, pushing past Japan, the former worldwide leader, according to a team of business students from the University of Oxford in England and the University of Oviedo in Spain.

The study examined 66 countries and 240 cities. Broadband leadership was measured by various factors, including the number of wired households, where South Korea scored 97%. Hong Kong, which was rated number three in overall broadband leadership, had an even higher penetration, at 99%.

“The Broadband Quality Study shows us which countries have made real moves towards the Internet of the future,” said Professor Maria Rosalia Vicente of the University of Oviedo, in a written statement.

“It also provides fresh evidence of the urban-versus-rural quality divide. The challenge for countries now is to bridge this quality divide.”

Photo by Univ. of Oxford, Oviedo.

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