8 best places to live for fast internet

The average Internet connection speed in the world is just 2 mbps, a speed that may sound good until you find out that other internet users are connecting at thirty times that speed and paying only pennies for the privilege. Much work needs to be done to give all people equal access to the internet. Until then, the best chance for getting better and more affordable service may be to move. Here you’ll read about the 8 best places to live for fast internet.

1. Japan – You might think that your supposed 8 mbps cable connection is good until you find out that the Japanese are surfing at an average 60 mbps. Adding more to your pain is the fact that in Japan, the internet costs an average of just 27¢ per mbps of bandwidth per month. Compare that to $3.33 in the USA and even more in Canada and in the UK.

2. South Korea – Although not number one in average speed, South Korea is number one in downstream speed, meaning that on average, files download faster in South Korea than they do anywhere else in the world. The world averages just over 7 mbps for downloading, but in Seoul, South Korea, the average download speed is 34.66 mbps, which is just a little faster than the national average. Fast internet access in South Korea is also fairly inexpensive at an average of just 45¢ per mbps per month.

3. Riga, Latvia – When it comes to fast downloads, internet users in Riga are regularly clocked connecting at almost 28 mpbs. The nation of Latvia itself claims an average Internet speed of 24 mbps, although we don’t have data for the average cost of service there.

4. Finland – The gap between second and third best countries for fast internet is wider than you might think. Users in Finland pay more than six times as much as South Koreans pay for their connection, but get average speeds of just 22 mbps (that’s slow when compared with Japan). You may also recall that Finland is the first country that has recognized universal internet access as a legal right.

5. The Republic of Moldova – this small Easter European country ranks among the best places in the world for fast internet with an astounding 21.4 mbps, placing it just below Finland, although pricing data is not available.

6. Sweden – Although Sweden has a slower average speed, residents there are fortunate to pay just 63¢ per megabyte on average, a price that is by far the lowest in Europe and among the lowest in the world. The average speed in Sweden is 18 mbps.

7. France – While it may not be the most popular country in the world, France’s average connection speed is no laughing matter. With citizensdownloading at an average of nearly 18 mbps, French internet users are among the world’s elite. The trouble is that they pay nearly 3 times as much for service as do the Swedes.

8. The Netherlands – Known to play fast and loose in more than one way, the average connection speed in the Netherlands is approximately 9 mbps but comes at one of the highest costs in the west, $4.33 per mbps ofbandwidth.

Data show that speeds are fastest in Asia and Europe, although the cost of those speeds is unsurprisingly at its highest in Europe, led by Poland at an astounding $13.00 per mbps. Affordable and accessible internet access for all is still clearly some way off in the distance