A recent study showed that in terms of fastest wireless broadband by continent, Europe is the worldwide leader. Top countries on the continent include Latvia, Romania, Lithuania, Aland, Andorra, Sweden, Bulgaria, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Hungary, Russia, and Ukraine. Both public initiative toward infrastructure and national government funding are the major reasons for Europe’s success in the wireless competition. In terms of numbers, Europe obtained wireless broadband speed of 7.73 Mbps, with North America, Australasia, and Asia as close runner-ups with broadband speeds of 6.95, 5.31, and 5.25 Mbps respectively. South America and Africa trailed with speeds of 2.25 and 1.39 Mbps.
After looking at continents with the quickest broadband speeds, it is crucial to look at specific countries, where they rank, and why. What accounts for the success (or failure) of certain countries working toward the fastest wireless broadband speeds worldwide? What role does government initiative and funding play? How does infrastructure affect a country? What is the focus of the economy of countries with the fastest wireless broadband?
Two major trends can be seen in the top four countries to be discussed in terms of highest download and upload speeds. With Korea, Japan, Aland and Latvia ranking highest in download and upload, we see both a shift toward major telecom and technology-oriented countries like Korea and Japan along with a great deal of success for small, autonomous, under-the-radar countries like Aland and Latvia.
Korea has been ranked as the country with the fastest worldwide download speed of 22.90 Mbps. But why Korea? Korea’s success is in large part due to work they have done in the past fifteen years to build high-speed broadband infrastructure and to a massive government initiative effort for WiMAX and broadband services.
Choi Si-joong, South Korea’s top telecom regulator, said during a keynote speech at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that, “We will offer offer our cutting-edge mobile Internet technologies to help developing countries establish mobile Internet networks.”
South Korea’s WiBro technology, a version of WiMAX, is currently available in commercial service in 35 countries internationally and growing. As they gain international popularity and use, WiBro will have to maintain top-quality, fast, and cutting-edge technology in order to remain at the forefront of the industry and this committment to expand is clearly going to be at the forefront of the agenda of Korean telecom regulators.
Japan, who ranked third for fastest download speed (17.80 Mbps) and second for upload speed (8.84 Mbps), is one of the most active telecommunications markets in the world, both in size and also in innovation and ability to be the first to develop and launch cutting- edge technologies. Because of a highly competitive market and varied user needs, it is difficult for any single Japanese carrier to hold the majority of market share. Growth can also be attributed to promotions, discounts, and new methods of repayments with installments. Expansion in the 3G market is due in large part to the closing of 2G networks by operators in the upcoming years and the acquisition of new mobile content. Japan plans to begin the launch of commercial LTE in 2010 by NTT and by other operators in the next three years.
At the start of 2010, Japan had upwards of 30 million broadband lines in place with much of the success a direct result of a sudden growth surge in 2003 on the back of DSL broadband technology. Fiber-to-the-Home currently makes up about 50% of the total broadband market and Japan has also been an innovator in the adoption of multiple play options and models that provide TV, broadband Internet, and telephone services all in one package from one provider. Because telecommunications authorities in Japan have played a major role in shaping the industry, Japan has also played a major leadership role in a variety of global and regional telecommunications areas.
A far smaller and more discreet yet equally successful country in terms of broadband speed is Aland, an autonomous, demilitarized, Swedish-speaking archipelago of Finland in the Baltic Sea. Aland ranked second in download speeds (19.71 Mbps) and third in upload speeds (7.82 Mbps). Because of Aland’s geographical location and local economy that is dependent upon trade with neighboring countries, residents are very dependent upon good communications. This being said, Aland is very communications and IT-oriented as well as being a very media-intensive society. This emphasis on communications and journalism has led the country to always be at the forefront of developments in information technology. Aland has a broadband network that is accessible to almost the entire population with a mobile telephone network that covers the main island and almost the entire archipelago. Aland’s wealth, open economy, and constant need for international communications to support their economy which is based on tourism, agriculture and trade have led to advancements in the quality and speed of wireless broadband in Aland.
A fourth and final country worth mentioning in terms of high speed wireless broadband speed internationally is Latvia, with upload speeds of 6.97 Mbps and download speeds of 17.39 Mbps. Expansion of the telecommunications sector in Latvia began in 2003 when Lattelecom lost its monopoly on the fixed telecom market. Broadband services are currently available all over Latvia, particularly in urban areas, and account for almost all Internet subscriptions. Latvia has always ranked high in Broadband Quality Scores when being assessed for readiness for next-generation web apps and services like transmitting and broadcast streaming HD TV, file sharing, and video conferencing. In recent months, mobile network operators have also seen major growth in the usage of data services after the introduction of flat rates with unlimited consumption. Mobile TV contributed to this trend since it is now available to 3G users in Latvia. Given the fast pace of technology development, broadband speed and connectivity are key components of the telecommunications market in Latvia.
Though countries worldwide are expanding and making great headway in the high speed technology world, certain factors are making the difference in various locations from massive IT-oriented metropolis’ to small, autonomous, more localized countries. Government funding, public initiative, improved infrastructure, forward thinking, and need-based communications have been the key ingredients leading to success in countries like Korea, Japan, Aland, and Latvia. The future of high speed wireless will depend on these factors and it will be interesting to track and study what future trends will become the winning ingredients in this area.
For a full list of the fastest worldwide wireless broadband speeds please visit:
http://www.speedtest.net/global
Photo courtesy of Stakhanivte’s Twin via Flickr
