US ranks 28th in Internet connection speed: report

[benson111]

WASHINGTON (AFP) - (http://tech.yahoo.com/news/afp/20090825/tc_afp/ustelecombroadbanditinternet_20090825230334)
The United States ranks 28th in the world in average Internet connection speed and is not making significant progress in building a faster network, according to a report released on Tuesday.

The report by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) said the average download speed in South Korea is 20.4 megabits per second (mbps) -- four times faster than the US average of 5.1 mbps.

Japan trails South Korea with an average of 15.8 mbps followed by Sweden at 12.8 mbps and the Netherlands at 11.0 mbps, the report said.

It said tests conducted by speedmatters.org found the average US download speed had improved by only nine-tenths of a megabit per second between 2008 and 2009 -- from 4.2 mbps to 5.1 mbps.

"The US has not made significant improvement in the speeds at which residents connect to the Internet," the report said. "Our nation continues to fall far behind other countries."

"People in Japan can upload a high-definition video in 12 minutes, compared to a grueling 2.5 hours at the US average upload speed," the report said.

[Blazez]

Time to move to japan,Sickhands

[Zidane]

Well, at least we still have Football going for us. (Not soccer)

[HeyRiles]

We would be ranked higher guys didn't go to porn sites and therefore didn't get all those viruses that slow down your computer

[Mystlyfe77]

We would be ranked higher guys didn't go to porn sites and therefore didn't get all those viruses that slow down your computer

Or if they used Macs to do it. ;)

*whistles innocently*

[Soratar]

Wow, 28th. C'mon guys, step it up!

[Baanu_Rass]

We would be ranked higher guys didn't go to porn sites and therefore didn't get all those viruses that slow down your computer

And steal your periods

I bet it's the lower population caused by more people living in the country that reduces the connection speed

[Lawdog1521]

I couldn't read your article... it was still downloading. Zing!

[Blackjack041277]

I bet it's the lower population caused by more people living in the country that reduces the connection speedOf course it is! Phone companies have little incentive to extend improved lines into remote areas with low population density. One thing all the fastest on average countries have in common is that there's a lot less ground to cover and everyone in the whole country living within a much shorter distance of each other than in a small part of the USA.

[Soja]

Japan is roughly the same size and population as California.

You do the math. Fewer people to serve = moar bandwidth.

Also, South Korea subsidized DSL when it first came on the scene. It's a big national investment to them. How else are they gonna maintain their StarCraft championships?

[Mystlyfe77]

Also, South Korea subsidized DSL when it first came on the scene. It's a big national investment to them. How else are they gonna maintain their StarCraft championships?

Actually, DSL and battle.net have a notoriously bad reputation of not getting along well.

[Apples]

We have more land than most countries, meaning more cable and hardware to run.

Plus the telcos are generally corrupt, meaning innovation is slow unless you're paid up with the FCC and other government puppet masters.

[NoMoreVillains]

I bet it's the lower population caused by more people living in the country that reduces the connection speed

I live out in the country and my family got dsl only last year. We get a 728 kb/s connection from Verizon.
In order for a home out in the country to get a dsl connection, the home has to be within 18,000 feet of wire from a telephone exchange.

[ham736]

its probably the population and all the bandwidth we are using.

also, i dont even have DSL, i have to use a 3G wireless modem card (AT&T), but i wish we'd get any sort of cable, and i dont even live that far from a city, yet my area is considered the country.

[funkydunkleman]

We have more land than most countries, meaning more cable and hardware to run.

Plus the telcos are generally corrupt, meaning innovation is slow unless you're paid up with the FCC and other government puppet masters.

He knows too much. Get him!

[Blackjack041277]

Japan is roughly the same size and population as California.Actually, Japan has more than three times the population of California in a slightly smaller total area. Hence what I was saying about population density.

[Soja]

Actually, Japan has more than three times the population of California in a slightly smaller total area. Hence what I was saying about population density.That probably helps in some way, with access anyway.

[neckermanncj]

no wonder, things are taking forever to DL for me... :'(

[Blackjack041277]

That probably helps in some way, with access anyway.There is no probably about it. :p That there are so many people living in areas with relatively low population densities (extremely low compared to countries like South Korea or Japan) and there's so much more ground to cover puts the USA at a major disadvantage when you look at average speeds.

[Wolfbeckett]

This is nothing new. Indeed, people have been talking about it for at least a few years. Here is a multipart write up from 2007 detailing it:

Part 1 (http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/2007/pulpit_20070720_002525.html)

Part 2 (http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/2007/pulpit_20070803_002641.html)

Part 3 (http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/2007/pulpit_20070810_002683.html)

Lower population density definitely does not help, but why are speeds in the middle of New York not as high as they are in other countries? New York has a very high population density, after all. The real problem is that the telephone companies (who now provide cable and such but they all started as telcos) set up a system for themselves wherein they can charge high prices for subpar service and we can't do anything about it. Because ISP's have legalized local monopolies, they have no competition, and without competition you have no incentive whatsoever to lower prices or increase service. The FCC really screwed us all on this one, they set regulations for these companies to abide by and then utterly failed to provide any oversight. Meanwhile the Telcos found several ways to game the system (described in more detail in the article I posted) which resulted in them reaping obscene profits despite providing subpar service.