Koreans to get 1Gbit/sec broadband - as Brits hit 2Mbit/sec

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 2 Feb 2009 at 12:16

South Korea is planning to boost its broadband speeds to an astounding 1Gbit/sec - by the same time as the British Government plans to guarantee UK speeds of a measly 2Mbits/sec.

The Koreans already benefit from some of the fastest internet connections in the world, with 100Mbits/sec connections available from the country's broadband providers.

Now, the Korea Communications Commission plans to increase that ten-fold to 1Gbit/sec by 2012.

The ultra high-speed connections will reinforce South Korea's growing reputation as a technology hotbed, as well as allowing on-demand broadcasting of high-definition video.

It's not only the country's fixed-line connections that are getting a boost, either. Mobile broadband speeds will be increased to 10Mbits/sec with the adoption of the WiBro, a variant on the WiMAX standard.

The news comes just days after the British Government pledged that everyone in Britain will have access to a 2Mbits/sec connection by 2012. The plan forms part of Lord Carter's Digital Britain report, which is due to be finalised later this year.

Britain will, of course, have access to much faster connections by 2012. The rare few on fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) technology should benefit from the 100Mbits/sec connections currently being enjoyed by the Koreans. The rest of us will have to make do with 40Mbits/sec fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) connections, if we're lucky enough to fall within BT's planned rollout to 10 million British homes.