Seoul Society

CNET News reports on how South Korea leads the way in terms of broadband. Some excerpts:

South Korea's policy--the cornerstone of a national technology initiative to help revive a devastated economy--has created true broadband competition, which in turn has helped prices fall and speeds rise. The country's achievements are even more impressive considering its starting point in technology. In 1995, fewer than 1 percent of South Korean residents used the Internet, though a larger number subscribed to proprietary Korean-language networks that were somewhat like the closed CompuServe and America Online networks of the late 1980s. By 2004, more than 71 percent of South Korean households subscribed to broadband Net services, according to local estimates.

Korean regulators set out a clear path for the network industry with well-publicized national goals. All big office and apartment buildings would be given a fiber connection by 1997. By 2000, 30 percent of households would have broadband access through DSL or cable lines. By 2005, more than 80 percent of households would have access to fast connections of 20mbps or more--about the rate needed for high-definition television.

The daily pervasiveness of broadband in South Korea is one of the primary reasons that Intel created a new lab dedicated to the digital home in Seoul. The company is studying how Koreans use the Internet, from shopping to gaming, to understand how the technology can be developed for other countries.

So successful has South Korea's experiment been that it is even exporting its expertise. Several companies are marketing consulting services and equipment to Russia and Southeast Asia.