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As is well known, South Korea has been continuously voted the most popular destination among North Korean defectors ever since the Korean peninsular was cut into twain in 1948. The South Korean government now appears even more determined to retain the top spot in the hearts of North's emigrants, even if it takes a ridiculously fast 1Gbps internet connection to lure them to the country.
Substandard jokes apart, the government is now talking with private players regarding its plan of introducing widespread 1Gbps internet access by 2012, encouraging them to spend the 34 trillion Won (£19bn) needed for the plan.
“I think in the future we will really see a data deluge - data will explode over the network. And you cannot handle that data traffic only through the mobile internet. Although there will be LTE, still you won't be able to handle all that traffic,” Lee Suk-Chae, chairman of Korea Telecom, told the BBC.
“Fixed line is essential to support that traffic and in that sense, I think people want to watch the content they want anywhere, anytime, and to satisfy their demands you need to have a strong network, maybe a gigabit internet.”
So how does this make you feel, Rest of the World?
Image Credit: Physorg
Comments are closed on this article
da_samman
October 19, 2010 at 12:03pm
True, JohnP and someone87 have valid points. However, our government apparently only cares about lining their pockets. A balance between government regulation and ISP maintenanceis more close to what is needed. True, some ISPs need a gook rack in the nuts (Comcast, I'm looking at you), but the same can be said for some of our congress members. Too many have been in too long and need to go.
Oops, strayed off the topic. Isn't ADH FUN??
V/R,
SGT Samuel Eugene McCalrd II
P.S. DEATH TO COMMENT SPAMMERS!!
jbwhite99
October 19, 2010 at 7:38am
With my state of the art 7 Mbps connection, I can transmit 1GB in only 20 minutes! The difference in Korea is that the government is doing the work - not individual companies or towns. Granted it will be subcontracted, but still, this country will be behind the curve if they don't force these ISPs to get to work.
I can upgrade to 10Mbps for another $10 per month, but why? I should be getting 20 Mbps down, and 2MBps up for what I am paying! Get to it, ISPs!
someone87
October 19, 2010 at 8:02am
The reason your ISP sucks is because of all the government regulations it's currently imposing.
If the Government would just get out of places they don't belong (private business) you would have what your asking for, or better right now.
Trust me, do your research, the same goes for cars, air planes, computer, healthcare, all kinds of Tech and products. If you look at the rules and regulations companies have to follow, then all the taxes we pay as business owners, it's a wonder anything gets done.
Then there's unions, your ISP (I am betting) is union, which causes everything to happen really slowly, and is really costly.
someuid
October 19, 2010 at 2:05pm
In the small town I live in (Havre, MT) we didn't get any kind of high speed until 2004. All we had in town was Qwest and dial-up. The cable company moved in and brought high speed. All of a sudden, Qwest brought in DSL.
So, I disagree. While I do agree that regulations and unions and taxes slow things down, this does not make the opposite (no regulation, tax cuts, ban the unions) any better. Monopolies get lazy real fast and concentrate on maximum profit vs service (see: marginal cost and how it related to a monopoly.)
It takes a balance between the two, which we do not have here in the US lately, leaving us behind the curve.
JohnP
October 18, 2010 at 8:34pm
The US has 10 states larger than the whole of South Korea. Their population is also has 6 times the population density of the US. Wouldn't it be a lot EASIER to wire a country that is small and heavily populated?
mralexosborn
October 18, 2010 at 8:07pm
If Al Gore invented the internets shouldn't he be upgrading it right about now?
XD
carage
October 18, 2010 at 7:32pm
Japan should be able to catch up pretty fast.
The same can't be said about the rest of the world.
