If they are claiming Japan has slow broadband too (see below) I wouldn't trust the rest of the research, but maybe worth a look at an rate
My experience is that avg DSL speeds in Japan are > 10 Mbps, as in Korea ---- http://www.smh.com.au/news/breaking/australia-lags-on-internet-front-world-b ank/2006/03/10/1141701658354.html Australia lags on internet front: World Bank March 10, 2006 - 6:23AM Australian internet users are barely moving along the information superhighway compared with other nations, a study shows. A report by the World Bank has Australia well behind other developed nations in terms of broadband internet speed - a key factor in modern-day business and essential to accessing new features on the web such as movie and music downloads and telephone calls. Official figures cited in the report showed that per head of population, Australia's broadband internet speed was just over one megabits per second (mbps). The figure was significantly down compared with Britain (13 mbps), France (8.4 mbps), Germany (6.85 mbps) Canada (6.8 mbps) and the United States (3.3 mbps), but was similar to Japan. But internet costs were relatively cheap, costing just under $25 a month in Australia, compared with Japan ($29), Britain ($33), the US ($20.50) and Canada ($17). The figures on internet speed are likely to add weight to Labor's argument that many Australians only have access to "fraudband" - broadband internet access at 256kbps - and the nation should aim for at least a 10mbps standard delivered through a new optical fibre network. While the government also would like to see the next generation broadband network rolled out, it points to private companies such as iiNet and Internode already providing services up to 24mbps in some city areas via the existing copper-wire network. The study contradicts recent government statements about the popularity of high-speed internet connections. Although the government is claiming close to three million broadband subscriptions, the report said Australia had only 77 broadband connections for every 1,000 people. This was lower than Canada (165), Japan (146), United States (129), France (109) and Britain (103), but close to Germany's 84 connections per 1000 people. But Australians are among the top users of mobile phones, with 887 per 1000 people. The figure was higher than most European nations, as well as Japan and the US, but lower than Britain which has more than one mobile per person - a ratio of 1,042 to 1000. The high take up of mobiles in Australia may be due to the fact that mobile phone packages and calls are relatively cheap, compared with other countries. A bundle of mobile services cost $17.80 a month, well below Germany's $30.60, but higher than the US ($15) and budget-priced Canada ($9). The report - which examined telecommunications and information technology in 150 countries - ranked majority-government owned Telstra the world's 28th largest telco, with France Telecom topping the list. It said 130 countries had at least three competing mobile phone providers but almost half of all countries retained monopolies on fixed local and international calls. AAP --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ TELECOM-CITIES Current searchable archives (Feb. 1, 2006 to present) at http://www.mail-archive.com/telecom-cities@forums.nyu.edu/ Old searchble archives at http://www.mail-archive.com/telecom-cities@googlegroups.com/ -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
