Legit Reviews

The United States is one the few industrialized nations that has not yet implemented a comprehensive policy to promote broadband internet access. Nations that have prioritized broadband infrastructure have already seen improvements. For example, Denmark improved broadband penetration between 2005 and 2007 from 25 to 34.3 connections per 100 inhabitants, while the United States has only improved from 16.8 to 22.1 (See chart). The United States currently ranks 15th of the 30 developed countries in overall penetration as measured by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Expanding broadband infrastructure in the United States would not simply improve the speed of connections for entertainment purposes, but it will also bring a wealth of knowledge to more citizens in more areas. With greater reach, the United States could see improvements in education, health care, and first-responder capabilities as communications become faster, more efficient, and more effective.

The United States has also fallen behind other countries in the deployment of new broadband technologies. For example, over 35% of Japan's internet connections are fiber optic, whereas only 3% of U.S. connections are fiber optic.

Countries like Japan and South Korea that have made broadband a national priority are already experiencing the perks of their fiber optic expansion. Average broadband download speeds are hitting 61-megabits per second in Japan, while the average in the United States is only 1.9-megabits per second. Even the "fast" connection in the United States of 5-megabits per second requires 15 minutes to download a 4.5 GB movie file, while the average connection in Japan needs just 1.25 minutes.

- Source

I just wish we had as much Fiber as Japan and Korea!

It is interesting to see that we lag behind percentage wise, but I wonder how this chart would look if it was based on miles of broadband cables. I see the smaller countries or those with much higher population densities are at the top of the chart.

Man, I want fiber internet speeds like that too. DSL has a sharp connection speed drop off the further away you get from the exchange.

Dan

Ya, my DSL service is horribly slow. If one computer on the network is downloading, the rest suffer severely.

DMB2000uk wrote: DSL has a sharp connection speed drop off the further away you get from the exchange.

Dan

DSL just sux

it's really ridiculous that Korea's infrastructure is that much better than ours

I have fiber to my house and then the phone company ended that outside the house and brought in copper... Pretty stupid if you ask me as Fiber doesn't mean crap if it isn't run into the house and usable. My house is listed as being Fiber ready... The phone companies are stretching that one a bit.

Apoptosis wrote:I have fiber to my house and then the phone company ended that outside the house and brought in copper... Pretty stupid if you ask me as Fiber doesn't mean crap if it isn't run into the house and usable. My house is listed as being Fiber ready... The phone companies are stretching that one a bit.

this verizon fios?
as for the whole broadband thing, America is already using like terabytes of bandwith every day, if every one had broadband then the internet would collapse in no time. but im glad im one of the ones that's in that little green part this is the first time ive ever not been able to use all my bandwith, no one has upload speeds high enough

So our gov thinks our economy needs to be stimulated our ISP's are less then nice (and not just with customer service). am i the only one that sees a solution to the 2 problems?

DMB2000uk wrote:Man, I want fiber internet speeds like that too. DSL has a sharp connection speed drop off the further away you get from the exchange.

Dan

DSL works up to 10K from the local exchange (DSLAM) - ADSL 2+ increases this range by a bit.
There's a degree of "Attenuation" and "Noise" on the line as you go further from the DSLAM.
This is because the "Local Loop" (Cooper cable) is shared by numerous users for PSTN and Data traffic.
You also get problems with "Signal Refration" from these users.
For an ISP they have to use a lot of transmit power to send this signal down the copper. There's a knock on effect that EU law will be changing regarding power comsumption. There's a new technology to help with waisted power (who needs to have full sync at 10MBit when the connection is not in use?)

As you go futher away from the DSLAM, the noise margin goes up and the maximum bit rate goes down.

An ISP can't just go straight to a fibre setup, not without creating a faster core network infrastructure. This takes time and costs a LOT of money. The ISP / Phone Co. have to setup this very large network, but at the same time not disrupt any of their existing services. They also have problems with civil contrators etc. when they have to dig up the roadside.

I'm actually suprised that Ireland is even on that chart.
The average DSL speed here is about ~2-3MBit and the max is ~12Mbit
We have some fibre @ 25Mbit up 5MBit down, but it's expensive and not available everywhere.
We have another solution called "Metro Ethernet" - This is basically a CAT 6E cable run to your premises, with a Gigabit link and zero contention.

//my 2 cent

how much does the metro ethernet cost?

martini161 wrote:

Apoptosis wrote:I have fiber to my house and then the phone company ended that outside the house and brought in copper... Pretty stupid if you ask me as Fiber doesn't mean crap if it isn't run into the house and usable. My house is listed as being Fiber ready... The phone companies are stretching that one a bit.

this verizon fios?
as for the whole broadband thing, America is already using like terabytes of bandwith every day, if every one had broadband then the internet would collapse in no time. but im glad im one of the ones that's in that little green part this is the first time ive ever not been able to use all my bandwith, no one has upload speeds high enough

My phone company is actually CenturyTel

CenturyTel provides quality, fiber transport services to smaller cities and rural areas. CenturyTel's LightCore fiber network consists of nearly 14,500 route miles, approximately 72 percent of which is currently lit, providing operating cost savings, revenue growth opportunities and increased control of the company's transport needs in much of its central U.S. service area. Including its ILEC operations, CenturyTel's fiber network consists of nearly 31,700 route miles, of which approximately 87 percent is currently lit.

martini161 wrote:how much does the metro ethernet cost?

More than you can afford

I'll have to check when I get into work tomorrow

kenc51 wrote:

martini161 wrote:how much does the metro ethernet cost?

More than you can afford

I'll have to check when I get into work tomorrow

thats what i assumed man it be nice to get a network line droped right in to my door

Korea is insane, about 30% have fiber or LAN

They ran fiber right in front of the house couple of months ago, been checking on and off and apparently having it run across your property isn't any sign that your actually going to get any benefit from it.

Even if they ran copper up to the house it'd be better than Sat internet. Least I'd be able to do some MMORPG.

yeah even if they dont run fiber right to your door, its still faster then having coper all the way from the cable hub to your door. unless your talking like 50 mbit+ speeds, which your not going to get from a residential provider

Zertz wrote: Korea is insane, about 30% have fiber or LAN

yeah but there a small country so it be pretty easy to implement a nation wide fiber network there

If you have a 3Mbit + connection, who cares?

I'm the first to admit, I use BT to download "stuff", but if it's "free", I don't compain while waiting for it to finish downloading.
For browsing, 3megs is more than enough.............

You have all started to compaire your www access to PC technology (which is far beyound what an ISP can provide)

when i first started on fios i actually did notice that my internet was much swifter, even on the wireless. my BT speeds didnt go up that much though becasue not very many people have uploads that can even begin to saturate my line

skierkid450 wrote:it's really ridiculous that Korea's infrastructure is that much better than ours

Yup, gotta love that about living here. It's actually one of the few nice things about living here.

Zertz wrote:Korea is insane, about 30% have fiber or LAN

Yeah, I'd say that's actually on the low side. I'd say the total amount of broadband is probably closer to about 65 out of 100 based on the studies done here in Korea.

One thing that probably helps the numbers is the sheer number of PC Bangs (Internet Cafe's). There is probably one about every block in the "residential" sections and up to 10 or so per block in the city centres.

Another good thing is that it's so darned cheap. I get my DSL (10MB down / 4MB up) for about $30 depending on the exchange rate. I enjoy my internet connection. Only problem is that as soon as I surf outside of Korea the speed is crap!

KPRROK

One thing that probably helps the numbers is the sheer number of PC Bangs (Internet Cafe's). There is probably one about every block in the "residential" sections and up to 10 or so per block in the city centres.

LOL on primaraly english speaking forums you should stick with calling them Internet Cafes's. PC Bangs is a bit of a double entendre around here. im still gigiling like a school girl from reading that