Why South Korea is Winning the Broadband War

[switched] It's no longer news that the U.S. has slower and more expensive Internet connections than most of the world. Being the place where the Web was invented makes that quite sad, of course, but there are legitimate reasons why a country like South Korea (which has the fastest speeds on average) is beating us in the broadband race.

For one, most countries have much more competition in the broadband provider industry than the U.S. does. Here, most locales have, at best, two choices for high speed Internet: the local cable subsidiary or the phone company. The FCC's national broadband plan aims to increase competition, but don't expect to see the market flooded with broadband providers in the near future. This lack of competition is, at least in some ways, reflective of U.S. culture and policies. South Korea has put a strong emphasis on connectivity for some time. The government provides significant subsidies to poor families to get them online, and requires that companies allow competitors access to their infrastructure (for a price).

All of these elements come together so seamlessly in South Korea thanks to a ten-year plan enacted in the '90s. While the U.S. was still regarding dial-up access to chat rooms as a luxury, the South Korean government was investing in its future, and laying out a detailed plan for connecting its citizens to the emerging global market.

Of course, there are practical concerns that are out of our control. South Korea has a much smaller population and a much higher population density than we do stateside. Connecting the vast swaths of rural America is far more difficult and expensive than linking clusters of urban high rises.

Rather than make excuses, though, the American government and companies should take this as a challenge. The FCC's national broadband plan is a good start, but, if we want to claim our rightful place at the top of the lists for various broadband metrics (speed, price, and reach), there is a lot of work still to be done.

Why South Korea is Winning the Broadband War