By 2012 Koreans Will Get 1Gbps Broadband Connections

The Korea Communications Commission is working on plans that will boost broadband speeds in that country tenfold by the end of 2012. That means Koreans will access 1 Gbps service by 2012. That’s 200 times as fast as your typical 5 Mbps DSL connection sold in the U.S. At present, Koreans can get speeds of up to 100 Mbps from their broadband providers. Availability of such high-speed connections has allowed Korea to emerge as a leader in the MMO and online gaming industries. Even higher broadband speeds are going to unveil many new usage scenarios, which can lead to new company creation.

In addition to its wired broadband efforts, KCC expects wireless broadband to get a 10x speed bump to 10 Mbps vs. current speeds. KCC is promoting the homegrown WiBro standard as a way to boost speeds. It will re-allocate spectrum in the 800 MHz and 900 MHz bands with preference given to new operators and latecomers to the market. KCC wants to allocate the spectrum next year and hopes that services start in June 2011. IPTV is another area of focus for KCC.

The efforts are part of giving Korean IT infrastructure a boost, according to KCC. The plan is going to cost about $24.6 billion and will create 120,000 jobs. KCC was established because of the convergence of telecom, broadcast and broadband industries.We need our FCC to start thinking along those lines and make some drastic changes to get us to an ultrabroadband future . (Image Courtesy of JoongAng Daily.)

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Their infrastructure is going to be crippled by Starcraft 2 long before this is rolled out.  But man on man, I would love that connection.