Korea ranks 22nd in broadband, 6th in mobile in global internet speed test
The fixed broadband result of 251.33 megabits per second was contested by the Ministry of Science and ICT, which claimed higher speeds.
Korea's internet speed by broadband and mobile by Ookla on Oct. 14
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Korea, long known as an internet powerhouse, lagged behind more than 20 countries in home internet speeds last month, according to a new report Wednesday.
The country ranked 22nd in fixed broadband speed at 251.33 megabits per second (Mbps) in September, behind Canada at 257.88 Mbps and Portugal at 251.75 Mbps, according to global network performance analytics firm Ookla.
In the Speedtest Global Index, Singapore topped the global ranking with a speed of 462.50 Mbps, followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 382.40 Mbps and Chile at 364.48 Mbps. France ranked fifth and the United States seventh.
Eighth-ranked Vietnam recorded 301.48 Mbps and ninth-ranked Thailand 298.92 Mbps — both outpacing Korea. Yet Korea was ahead of neighboring China and Japan by two and four ranks, respectively.
Korea ranked No. 6 worldwide in mobile internet speed at 250.56 Mbps. Only five countries ranked higher: the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Germany and Brazil, in order.
Among cities, Seoul ranked No. 13 in mobile internet speed and Busan No. 32.
In fixed broadband speed, Seoul placed No. 34 and Busan No. 44.
Ookla compiles its country rankings from hundreds of millions of speed tests conducted each month by internet users worldwide. The results may have limitations in how accurately they reflect overall internet performance, as they rely on users who voluntarily conduct speed tests.
The figures also require caution in interpretation, as mobile speed tests include devices equipped with the latest chipsets, while fixed broadband measurements include tests conducted over Wi-Fi on mobile devices.
The Ministry of Science and ICT challenged the findings on Wednesday.
"Ookla does not disclose detailed testing conditions or methodologies, including the total number of tests conducted in each country, the types of internet plans evaluated or the distribution of measured speeds, beyond the reported speeds and rankings," the ministry said. "This limits the reliability of objective comparisons between countries."
The ministry also pointed to a substantial discrepancy between Ookla's figures and its own assessments.
"Last year's telecommunications service quality assessment recorded speeds of 91.91 Mbps for 100 Mbps plans, 496.05 Mbps for 500 Mbps plans and 987.7 Mbps for 1 Gbps plans," the ministry said. "These figures differ significantly from Ookla's reported download speed of 251.33 Mbps."
BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
