By — Hannah Yi Hannah Yi Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/internet-u-s-compare-globally-hint-slower-expensive Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter This is how Internet speed and price in the U.S. compares to the rest of the world World Apr 26, 2015 12:54 PM EDT The map above illustrates the cost and speed of connectivity in cities across the world. Faster connectivity speeds are represented by warmer colors. More expensive Internet bills are represented by bigger circles. Even though the Internet was invented in the United States, Americans pay the most in the world for broadband access. And it’s not exactly blazing fast. For an Internet connection of 25 megabits per second, New Yorkers pay about $55 — nearly double that of what residents in London, Seoul, and Bucharest, Romania, pay. And residents in cities such as Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo and Paris get connections nearly eight times faster. Here’s how cities across the world compare when it comes to Internet price and speed: Internet speeds and prices in cities in North America. Internet speeds and prices in cities in Europe. Internet speeds and prices in cities in Asia. So why are Americans paying more for slower service? The answer: There’s limited competition in the broadband market. In fact, half of American homes have only two options for Internet service providers for basic broadband, according to the Federal Communications Commission. And for faster speeds, a majority of households have only one choice. That’s why a handful of cities have chosen to create their own municipal broadband services to compete with private broadband providers: Chattanooga, Tennessee, Bristol, Virginia, Lafayette, Louisiana, Cedar Falls, Iowa, and Wilson, North Carolina. The municipal broadband services in these cities often provide faster speeds using fiber instead of traditional telephone or cable lines, though not necessarily for cheaper. Other cities have even partnered with Google to roll out high-speed internet. Watch NewsHour Weekend Sunday to learn more about how New York City is working to get internet access to the more than 730,000 homes without broadband access. Or watch our full report in the player below: By — Hannah Yi Hannah Yi Hannah Yi is a Producer with PBS NewsHour Weekend. Her responsibilities include producing, shooting and editing for the show. Previously she was a Producer for the national PBS news magazine show Need to Know. She also worked for the ABC News Longform Documentary Unit and on the CNN show Anderson Cooper 360°. Hannah earned her M.S. degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and her B.A. degree in Communications and English from the University of Pennsylvania. @hannahyi
The map above illustrates the cost and speed of connectivity in cities across the world. Faster connectivity speeds are represented by warmer colors. More expensive Internet bills are represented by bigger circles. Even though the Internet was invented in the United States, Americans pay the most in the world for broadband access. And it’s not exactly blazing fast. For an Internet connection of 25 megabits per second, New Yorkers pay about $55 — nearly double that of what residents in London, Seoul, and Bucharest, Romania, pay. And residents in cities such as Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo and Paris get connections nearly eight times faster. Here’s how cities across the world compare when it comes to Internet price and speed: Internet speeds and prices in cities in North America. Internet speeds and prices in cities in Europe. Internet speeds and prices in cities in Asia. So why are Americans paying more for slower service? The answer: There’s limited competition in the broadband market. In fact, half of American homes have only two options for Internet service providers for basic broadband, according to the Federal Communications Commission. And for faster speeds, a majority of households have only one choice. That’s why a handful of cities have chosen to create their own municipal broadband services to compete with private broadband providers: Chattanooga, Tennessee, Bristol, Virginia, Lafayette, Louisiana, Cedar Falls, Iowa, and Wilson, North Carolina. The municipal broadband services in these cities often provide faster speeds using fiber instead of traditional telephone or cable lines, though not necessarily for cheaper. Other cities have even partnered with Google to roll out high-speed internet. Watch NewsHour Weekend Sunday to learn more about how New York City is working to get internet access to the more than 730,000 homes without broadband access. Or watch our full report in the player below: