The US is 28th in the world in average internet connection speed ratings and is failing to make the proper investments to improve its nationwide network, according to a new report, with the UK failing to even hit the top 30.
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) noted that the average download speed in South Korea was 20.4 megabits per second. The average speed in the US is 5.1Mbps.
The UK's average broadband connection speed is even slower than the US, with recent reports from a recent Ofcom survey pegging the UK average at around 4.1mbps.
Back in January 2009, this was even slower, at a measly 3.6Mbps, so at least some progress is being made in the UK. Albeit painfully slow progress.
Though it should be noted that out of UK ISPs, Virgin Media's average is currently much higher than the national average, at around 6.73Mbps, helped, no doubt, by the roll-out of its much-hyped 50Mbps service.
"Virgin Media's exceptional performance has saved the UK average from an even steeper drop," noted Edd Dawson, editor of Broadband.co.uk
Analogue Britain
Back to the latest report from CWA, at the top of the rankings, Japan is trailing South Korea with an average of 15.8Mbps followed by Sweden at 12.8Mbps and the Netherlands at 11.0Mbps.
"The US has not made significant improvement in the speeds at which residents connect to the Internet," the report said, adding that the 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 added.
So much for 'Digital Britain'.
