High disparity in Asia’s broadband connectivity

There is a high disparity in the broadband connectivity in Asia-Pacific, a digital divide that remains to be one of the largest in the world, according to data compiled by the Asia News Network (ANN).

Data showed that South Korea has a subscriber base of 40 percent, while Myanmar only has 0.3 percent subscribers. This means that South Korea has 40.2 subscribers per 100 inhabitants.

Aside from South Korea, high-income countries like Hong Kong (31.2), Japan (30.5), Singapore (26.5), and China (18.6) also ranked high in broadband penetration compared to countries like India (1.3), Indonesia (1.1), and Pakistan (1).

The Philippines has a subscriber base of 3.4 percent, trailing behind its neighbors like Thailand (9.2), Malaysia (9), and Vietnam (8.1).

South Korea still has the fastest average connection speed in the region at 19.9 mbps, followed by Hong Kong at 19.9 mbps and Japan at 18.2 mbps.

Despite the big disparity, Asia remains to be the world leader in average connection speeds with four of the top ten countries found in the region. According to the International Telecommunication Union report in 2015, more than half of the global fixed broadband subscribers originated from member countries of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. YG/JE

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