4 ms·

By 2012 Koreans Will Get 1Gbps Broadband Connections

23 points by tortilla 18y ago

Retric 18y ago
Not to defend the US but an interesting way to look at the broadband problem: South Korea: total road network: 102,062 km, Population: 48,379,392 ~475 people per km of road. GDP - per capita: $27,100 (2008 est.) Japan: total road network: 1,196,999 km Population: 127,288,416 ~106 people per km of road. GDP - per capita: $35,300 United States: total road network: 6,433,272km (2004); Population: 303,824,640 ~47 people per km of road. GDP - per capita: $48,000 Data from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ PS: I still think our network is pathetic.
- deleted 18y ago
  [deleted]
- hs 18y ago
  from your data, it seems that the denser the road is, the lower the GDP is but of course, only 3 data points, past data don't ensure future and it's only correlation, not causation
  - nreece 18y ago
    I think it's more about the correlation between population density and the issue of "last mile" in the broadband network. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_mile http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_mile
    - jwilliams 18y ago
      I there is also a content-density issue. Japanese and Korean Internet users will access a lot of local content... Places like Germany will access a moderate amount of local content.... Places like Australia will be largely accessing foreign content. So Internet is bound to be more expensive in Australia. The last mile is expensive for density reasons, and most of this traffic needs to be trucked over large inter-continental cables. In high-pop, high-local-content areas the costs are bound to be considerably less. The US is an anomaly - but they are probably in a unique circumstance where they also serve/transport a lot of foreign content.
albertni 18y ago
"Availability of such high-speed connections has allowed Korea to emerge as a leader in the MMO and online gaming industries." What came first, the faster Internet connections (chicken), or the emergence as a leader in the MMO and online gaming industries (egg)? I've always been under the impression that the popularity of gaming (everything from Starcraft to CS to MMOs) in Korea has helped drive faster and faster Internet connections in Korea. If there's any reliable evidence to suggest either way, I'd love to hear it.
- deleted 18y ago
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pwim 18y ago
Japan already has 1Gbps: http://www.japantoday.com/category/technology/view/kddi-to-launch-1gbps-fiber-optic-service-in-oct http://www.japantoday.com/category/technology/view/kddi-to-l...
- atarashi 18y ago
  And only $65/month.
kin 18y ago
I would like US internet to at least be somewhat comparable in major cities such as Los Angeles, Bay Area, New York, Chicago, etc. Overall, the monopoly that the current networks have has forced our networking into an embarrassing state.
sgman 18y ago
I love how 3 year plans are always in their first year.

23 points by tortilla 18y ago

Not to defend the US but an interesting way to look at the broadband problem: South Korea: total road network: 102,062 km, Population: 48,379,392 ~475 people per km of road. GDP - per capita: $27,100 (2008 est.) Japan: total road network: 1,196,999 km Population: 127,288,416 ~106 people per km of road. GDP - per capita: $35,300 United States: total road network: 6,433,272km (2004); Population: 303,824,640 ~47 people per km of road. GDP - per capita: $48,000 Data from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ PS: I still think our network is pathetic.

deleted 18y ago
[deleted]
hs 18y ago
from your data, it seems that the denser the road is, the lower the GDP is but of course, only 3 data points, past data don't ensure future and it's only correlation, not causation
- nreece 18y ago
  I think it's more about the correlation between population density and the issue of "last mile" in the broadband network. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_mile http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_mile
  - jwilliams 18y ago
    I there is also a content-density issue. Japanese and Korean Internet users will access a lot of local content... Places like Germany will access a moderate amount of local content.... Places like Australia will be largely accessing foreign content. So Internet is bound to be more expensive in Australia. The last mile is expensive for density reasons, and most of this traffic needs to be trucked over large inter-continental cables. In high-pop, high-local-content areas the costs are bound to be considerably less. The US is an anomaly - but they are probably in a unique circumstance where they also serve/transport a lot of foreign content.

albertni 18y ago

"Availability of such high-speed connections has allowed Korea to emerge as a leader in the MMO and online gaming industries." What came first, the faster Internet connections (chicken), or the emergence as a leader in the MMO and online gaming industries (egg)? I've always been under the impression that the popularity of gaming (everything from Starcraft to CS to MMOs) in Korea has helped drive faster and faster Internet connections in Korea. If there's any reliable evidence to suggest either way, I'd love to hear it.

deleted 18y ago
[deleted]

pwim 18y ago

Japan already has 1Gbps: http://www.japantoday.com/category/technology/view/kddi-to-launch-1gbps-fiber-optic-service-in-oct http://www.japantoday.com/category/technology/view/kddi-to-l...

atarashi 18y ago
And only $65/month.

kin 18y ago

I would like US internet to at least be somewhat comparable in major cities such as Los Angeles, Bay Area, New York, Chicago, etc. Overall, the monopoly that the current networks have has forced our networking into an embarrassing state.

sgman 18y ago

I love how 3 year plans are always in their first year.