U.S. Broadband Speeds Much Lower Than Other Countries

Americans invented the Internet, but the Japanese are running away with it. Broadband service in Japan are eight to 30 times as fast as in the United States -- and considerably cheaper. Japan has the world's fastest Internet connections, delivering more data at a lower cost than anywhere else, recent studies show. Shown is a graphic that shows the median download speeds in megabits per second by country. Japan: 61. S. Korea: 46. Finland: 21. Sweden: 18. Canada: 8. U.S.: 2. This is more than just a matter of having a better hookup to watch YouTube. Higher speeds help the economy and medicine. Ultra-high-speed applications are being rolled out for low-cost, high-definition teleconferencing, for telemedicine — which allows urban doctors to diagnose diseases from a distance — and for advanced telecommuting to help Japan meet its goal of doubling the number of people who work from home by 2010. The speed advantage allows the Japanese to watch broadcast-quality, full-screen television over the Internet, an experience that mocks the grainy, wallet-size images Americans endure.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/28/AR2007082801990.html?nav=rss_technology

http://www.lostremote.com/2007/08/29/internet-speed-more-proof-we-get-ripped-off/