The internet and the world. The search for the fastest broadband

   We all have been there where we are frustrated with our internet service providers. Broadband is essential to our internet habits and our data hogging lifestyles where social media networking rules us. The most important thing in this situation is fast internet connection that is safe and reliable. However, not all countries in the world even have internet speeds that are necessary for the proper function of the innovations we have. The major problem lies in the disparities in broadband speeds between advanced nations and  how well prepared are they for an increasingly connected future. 

    Now lets take the United States, as an example. We Americans stream more video and audio than ever. Our smartphones store more files in the cloud than ever. Even our carriers push us to use wi-fi than our cellular networks for data. Several android phones allow for wi-fi calling and now Apple too is allowing for that on their latest flagship phones. All of these technologies require fast internet connections at home and now even on the go. 

   So how does America stack up against the world in terms of broadband connections? well the U.S. does not even rank in the top 10 for global broadband speeds. I did a speed test using speedtest.net of my home connection and i was extremely disappointed by the results. My download speed was a merely 3.84 Mbps which is awful and its concerning because of the amount of money we pay to the service providers for internet. The country that ranks at the top in broadband speeds is South Korea. The average connection speed  is 23.6 Mbps whereas the U.S. has a measly 10.5 Mbps. Netflix recommends 25 Mbps for ultra HD video and it will be an issue if multiple family members are watching different videos over the same connection. The internet broadband is so poor. We can not even match up to Latvia (12.0Mbps), the Czech Republic(11.2 Mbps), and Finland (10.7 Mbps). However, American broadband is more expensive than most of the countries listed. We pay nearly three time more than people in the United Kingdom and more than five times as much as the people in South Korea.

  In the end, as technology advances and demands faster broadband we must advance and make broadband cheaper and better.