Analysis of the Broadband Internet Penetration in South Korea: Drivers and Challenges

摘要

On broadband access to the Internet, Korea is a worldwide leading country in the OECD area. Recently, Korea has moved from DSL to Fiber-to-the home (FTTH) and Fiber-to-the-building (FTTB) subscriptions for the advanced high-speed internet connections. In this paper we provide a brief description of the Korean high-speed Internet market, then analyses key factors influencing the explosive growth in subscribers for the high-speed Internet service in terms of supportive government policy, competition between broadband suppliers, attractive applications and unique Korean culture, and finally try to touch future challenges for the effective use of the superb IT infrastructure. This analysis is expected to give valuable implications not only to Korean policymakers but also to other countries making an effort to promote the deployment rate of the high-speed Internet service.