For a company like Plum that designs, builds and operates interactive voice response (IVR) systems, Internet connectivity is of primary importance. While many of our systems operate telephonically, there is typically back-end integration required to make the system fully operational. Because of these multi-layered technological interactions, Internet connectivity is just as important to a software company like Plum as telecommunications connectivity.
A while ago I did a post on state-by-state Internet connectivity nationwide detailing the various average connection speeds of cities and states alike. A study has just been published that details Internet service speeds worldwide, broken down on both a country and city basis. The study was conducted by a company called Pando Networks and used download speed as the primary variable for analysis and comparison.
The title for the world’s fastest Internet goes to South Korea with an average download speed at around 2,202 KBps. South Korea is not entirely surprising as they have been one of the countries on the forefront of the tech revolution for some time now. However, the next 9 countries in the top ten are somewhat surprising. In decreasing order from fastest to slowest: Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia, Japan, Sweden, Ukraine, Denmark, and Hong Kong (not a country, but a special administrative region of China).
Four countries out of the top five are countries in Eastern Europe that many would imagine are less industrialized than their Western European counterparts. Eastern Europe is instead eclipsing Western Europe, and the rest of the world for that matter, in developing high-speed, efficient Internet capabilities. Conversely, the U.S. stands at just 26th in the world, with an average speed of just around 616 KBps. The only city in the U.S. to crack the top ten in terms of Internet speed is Andover, Massachusetts.
China, the country with the most Internet users, comes in at 82nd in the world with an average download speed of 245 KBps. And the slowest countries? Congo, Central African Republic, Comoros, the Cook Islands and Lesotho. Three of these countries are in Africa, while the other two are islands in the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific. Unfortunately, these countries experience very low Internet speeds for many reasons primarily having to do with their internal infrastructure.
This study tells us that there are massive discrepancies in Internet, and ultimately technological, connectivity worldwide. Someone in Seoul can download an item in a matter of seconds, while for someone in Kinshasa it might take hours.
Everyone talks about globalization and how it is being fueled by technological innovation, but as this survey shows, there are different types of globalization and citizens in different countries are living in a technological reality quite different from others. So how has technology changed this? And will it improve? Only time will tell. However, companies must be aware of these realities in order to pitch a product that is a good fit and actually have someone purchase it.
