CNN: Why internet connections are faster in South Korea

[MattFancy]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/03/31/broadband.south.korea/index.html?hpt=C2

People in the United States basically invented the Internet. So U.S. connections must be the fastest and cheapest in the world, right?

Not so much.

Broadband Internet speeds in the United States are only about one-fourth as fast as those in South Korea, the world leader, according to the Internet monitoring firm Akamai.

And, as if to add insult to injury, U.S. Internet connections are more expensive than those in South Korea, too.

The slower connection here in the U.S. costs about $45.50 per month on average, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In South Korea, the much-faster hook-up costs $17 per month less. An average broadband bill there runs about $28.50.

So why is U.S. Internet so much slower and pricier than broadband connections in South Korea? The question is timely, as the U.S. government pushes forward with a "broadband plan" that aims to speed up connections, reduce costs and increase access to the Internet, especially in rural areas.

Pretty interesting read. I didn't realize how crappy our internet is compared to other countries. It would be nice to see something done to lower the costs of what we pay.

[The Brave Little Toaster Oven]

I get 155mbps when on campus at UMD...100mbps when at work...and 55mbps when at home

[Spec138]

I'm jealous TBLTO, I got 10mbps down here, although there is the prospect of Google Fiber selecting College Station as a test site :) Please Google, please!

[Homercles82]

Overhead and higher wages for employees here I assume. Plus we are much larger and need more cabling, boosters and WAN centers.

[John Lydon]

The slower connection here in the U.S. costs about $45.50 per month on average, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Suckers! My AOL dial up only costs $9.99 a month!

[Homercles82]

Suckers! My AOL dial up only costs $9.99 a month!

But you have dial up. They are talking about broadband.

[Cheers, Beers and Mountaineers]

But you have dial up. They are talking about broadband.

I think he is joking, if not, sucks for him.

[kevincollateral]

this is just now news? its been a known thing for a few years that our internet blows compared to south korea, japan etc...

[Henry]

That's quite the inconvenient truth.

[Homercles82]

I think he is joking, if not, sucks for him.

I find it near impossible to tell when people are joking on here.

[Cheers, Beers and Mountaineers]

I find it near impossible to tell when people are joking on here.

True, but who has dial up nowadays?

[DjTj]

How can we expect to compete with them in real-time online gaming? Obama better do something about this before Starcraft 2 comes out...

[JimboDaMan]

Obviously this is Al Gore's fault.

[Veretax]

Isn't Seoul a Pretty populace city?

[greenspandan]

there are both denser and sparser populated countries way ahead of us on broadband speed. canada is ahead of us. most of europe is ahead of us. being the early adopter is an excuse, but not a particularly good one. other countries that came online shortly after we did have done far more to keep up their network infrastructure while we have lagged behind. regardless of excuses offered, it's an area we need to improve if we're going to continue to compete as a global leader in that arena.

[Corcaigh]

How can we expect to compete with them in real-time online gaming? Obama better do something about this before Starcraft 2 comes out...

Sucks for them if the server is in the USA. They have a super fast pipe until it leaves their border and then it's Lag-City, USA.

[RedskinsFan318]

I get 155mbps when on campus at UMD...100mbps when at work...and 55mbps when at home

Nice! I'm going there next year.

[LaxBuddy21]

True, but who has dial up nowadays?

Both of my grandmothers do because they cannot get cable or DSL where they live. AOL has royally screwed up my grandmothers new computer to the point where I have to reformat the hard drive and re-install windows. I HATE AOL!

[Fergasun]

The arguments that they are denser, etc. Is bull. If that were the case than our slow broadband would only be limited to rural places, and our cities such as Los Angeles, Washington, New York, Boston and suburb areas would have broadband as fast and cheap as Korea.

The truth is that it's the American corporate way to ensure laws are set up that are barriers to competition and entrance (such as some of the line sharing rules). I don't run a datacenter, but I've heard that Google's broadband costs are essentially zero.

If you doubt this look at how some ISPs want to gouge their consumers with capped internet connections and monthly limits. Compare those to the cost of a blazing fast data-center.

It is the telecom companies lobbying-lies that want people to believe that American can't do just as well in our populated and dense areas (at least).

[sjinhan]

Sucks for them if the server is in the USA. They have a super fast pipe until it leaves their border and then it's Lag-City, USA.

they will server in korea.. i mean heck in south korea.. Blizzard STILL supports Starcraft I there...

Blizzard knows where their cash cow will be...

[greenspandan]

The arguments that they are denser, etc. Is bull. If that were the case than our slow broadband would only be limited to rural places, and our cities such as Los Angeles, Washington, New York, Boston and suburb areas would have broadband as fast and cheap as Korea.

The truth is that it's the American corporate way to ensure laws are set up that are barriers to competition and entrance (such as some of the line sharing rules). I don't run a datacenter, but I've heard that Google's broadband costs are essentially zero.

If you doubt this look at how some ISPs want to gouge their consumers with capped internet connections and monthly limits. Compare those to the cost of a blazing fast data-center.

It is the telecom companies lobbying-lies that want people to believe that American can't do just as well in our populated and dense areas (at least).

right. in other countries, their governments work to ensure fair competition between broadband providers, and the result is a product that embarasses the united states' broadband offerings. our government, on the other hand, seems bent on preventing competition by granting legal local monopolies to ISPs.

[Fergasun]

Follow-up on my point.

ArsTechnica: UK Regulators Officially Mock US over ISP "competition"

Here's how US regulators do a broadband plan: talk about competition even while admitting there isn't enough, then tinker around the edges with running fiber to "anchor institutions" and start collecting real data on US broadband use. Here's how they do it in the UK: order incumbent telco BT to share its fiber lines with any ISP who is willing to pay. In places where BT hasn't yet run fiber, order the company to share its ducts and poles with anyone who wants to run said fiber. In the 14 percent of the UK without meaningful broadband competition, slap price controls on Internet access to keep people from getting gouged.

[Fergasun]

Make sure you all go to: broadband.gov and take the speedtest.

FCC would like to collect data on actual speeds (even after less than a month this test has already come under attack by the lobbyists).

[JMS]

there are both denser and sparser populated countries way ahead of us on broadband speed. canada is ahead of us. most of europe is ahead of us. being the early adopter is an excuse, but not a particularly good one. other countries that came online shortly after we did have done far more to keep up their network infrastructure while we have lagged behind. regardless of excuses offered, it's an area we need to improve if we're going to continue to compete as a global leader in that arena.

?? Excuse?, It's not an excuse, it's the plan. Japan, Europe, South Korea have faster connections because their governments invested billions in fiber infrastructure and ours did not.

Rather our government left it up to industry to implement what they thought the market would support. That in a nut shell is the reason why our internet connections lag behind many other countries.

The bad thing about this is our current internet connections are a little worse today, and they have been for decades. The not so bad thing about this is as new better technology becomes available, Korea is going to be locked in to their old infrastructure, where we conceavable could leap frog them.

Anyway it's kind of a philosophical thing, more than an excuse thing.

[greenspandan]

?? Excuse?, It's not an excuse, it's the plan. Japan, Europe, South Korea have faster connections because their governments invested billions in fiber infrastructure and ours did not.

Rather our government left it up to industry to implement what they thought the market would support. That in a nut shell is the reason why our internet connections lag behind many other countries.

The bad thing about this is our current internet connections are a little worse today, and they have been for decades. The not so bad thing about this is as new better technology becomes available, Korea is going to be locked in to their old infrastructure, where we conceavable could leap frog them.

Anyway it's kind of a philosophical thing, more than an excuse thing.

oh, i agree with your assessment. i was trying to head off the people that will say "well, the US is so much bigger, that's why our broadband sucks" pointing to the long distances between cities, or the high population. none of which are the real reason our internet speeds lag behind the rest of the first world.