 |
| Internet traffic speed is graphically displayed against an image of a computer user / Gettyimagebanks |
By Kim Jae-heun
Korea's competitiveness in high-speed internet infrastructure, which used to be rated as one of the world's fastest just a few years ago, was found to have fallen to 34th, according to recent data, Tuesday.
Ookla's internet speed measuring site "Speedtest" said its data showed Korea's average high-speed internet downloading speed was recorded at 171.12 Megabits per second (Mbps) as of November, last year, thereby placing the country 34th in the world.
The country's standing has continuously dropped from 2nd place in 2019 to 4th in 2020 and 7th in 2021. Last year, the country's ranking declined rapidly over the last few months.
The National Information Society Agency's report in August 2022 also showed Korea's high-speed internet speed marked 210.72 Mbps then, ranking 19th in the world.
Monaco had the fastest high-speed internet download speed of 320.08 Mbps as of last November, followed by Singapore with 295.78 Mbps.
Monaco and Singapore are city-states with small populations, however, Chile ― which has a population of nearly 20 million across a large territory ― had the fastest average internet speed of 291.63 Mbps among countries over a certain size.
Excluding small countries from among the top 10 nations with fast internet speeds, China ranked 6th with 276.10 Mbps and France 7th with 272.94 Mbps.
Despite the establishment of high-speed internet networks in the country in years gone by, Korea's internet speed fell sharply due to its implementation of a hybrid fiber-coax network when late-starter nations began using fiber-optic cables, which support faster speeds, in their networks.
Despite the fall in rank, some do not consider it a major concern since Korea's average internet speed is still fast enough to enjoy music streaming and over-the-top services smoothly.
To watch 1080p videos on YouTube, a user only requires a 5Mbps connection and a 30 Mbps connection enables users to enjoy 4K UHD broadcasts seamlessly.
![[ANALYSIS] China's ban on Micron tests Washington-Seoul alliance](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/1785a57b07ae45a7b7db49fdf4acd720.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] Long-awaited extension of Korean Pavilion at Venice Biennale to be pushed forward](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/d8d5090875824ce08a90bb2c5a8f8c05.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
