Where does the U.S. rank on the list of the top 10 countries or regions
with the fastest broadband connections? Nowhere. Bloomberg.com got an early look at the quarterly Internet report that
Akamai Technologies will publish later today. The rankings, which cover
July through September of last year, are based on average peak
connection speeds. The U.S. landed at No. 14, partly because of its large landmass, which is
difficult to fully cover with high-speed fiber.
10. Singapore
With an average of 30.7 megabits per second, Singapore cracked the top
10 with a peak speed that is nearly double the global average of 15.9
megabits per second. Thanks in part to its fast broadband, Singapore "is a tech hub," said David
Belson, who edited the report. The country is also home to well-known
techie Eduardo Saverin, who moved there and renounced his U.S.
citizenship before last year's initial public offering of Facebook, which he
co-founded.
9. Israel
Web startup culture and fast Internet go hand in hand, said Belson, the
Akamai editor. That's why it shouldn't surprise anyone that Israel made
the list. The country's average peak speed was 30.9 megabits per second. "There's good connectivity," he said. "And there are smart, very technical
people." A recent study conducted by researcher Startup Genome found Tel Aviv
to be the best place for startups behind Silicon Valley.
8. Bulgaria
With its low taxes and cheap labor, Bulgaria is marketing itself as an
attractive destination for global companies and investors. Another
selling point? Its Internet speed. Bulgarian broadband reached an
average of 32.1 megabits per second, an increase of 15 percent
compared with the previous quarter.
7. Switzerland
Befitting a major hub of the finance industry, Switzerland was clocked at
32.4 megabits per second on average. That compares with that other
major hub, the U.S., which had an average peak speed of 29.6 megabits
per second.
6. Belgium
Belgium Internet connections peaked at an average of 32.7 megabits per
second. At that speed, you could download the 2002 spy comedy
"Austin Powers in Goldmember," featuring Mike Myers's Belgian baddie,
in about six minutes.
5. Romania
Among those in the top 10, Romania was the only one to see its average
peak speed fall from the previous quarter. The country's average
dropped 3.2 percent, compared with a global average decrease of 1.4
percent. Still, most countries would love to have Romania's broadband speed.
With an average peak speed of 37.4 megabits per second, it was beat by
Latvia by just a tenth of a megabit per second.
4. Latvia
When thinking about the most technologically advanced nations, Latvia
probably doesn't come to mind. But broadband lines there reached an
average peak speed of 37.5 megabits per second, placing the country in
the top four. "Some of the Eastern European countries that are on here have a good
reputation for Internet connectivity," Belson said. "They're smaller. They
have a lot of government backing."
3. Japan
The country's electronics industry may be losing its edge, but Japan's
telecommunications technology is still on top of its game. The Japanese government has long prioritized Internet development as a
national goal, Belson said. High-speed optic fiber runs through many
parts of the country. Japanese connections reached 42.2 megabits per
second on average, Akamai said.
2. South Korea
Online gaming sucks up a lot of bandwidth, and there are few nations
that love their games more than South Korea. It is home to several
gaming competitions, such as World Cyber Games, and has entire
television channels devoted to "electronic sports." The average peak connection for the country was 48.8 megabits per
second. And broadband, as in several of the top-ranked nations, is
relatively cheap, too. People in Seoul can get 100 megabit-per-second
lines for $31.90 a month, the report said. "The pricing there is way more affordable," Belson said.
1. Hong Kong
With its high population density and strong government support,
Internet access in Hong Kong is blazing fast. And unlike Internet lines just
across the border, content censorship is virtually nonexistent. (China is
ranked at No. 123, Belson said.) The average peak speed in Hong Kong was 54.1 megabits per second,
according to Akamai, making it No. 1 on the list. At that speed, you could
download the HD movie "Battleship," which is set in Hong Kong, in about
four minutes. But why would you want to?
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Source: http://mobile.bloomberg.com /slideshow/2013-01-23/top-10-countries- with-the-fastest-internet.html
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