Global broadband adoption grows

Wireless broadband is the service delivery medium of the future, says OECD

Broadband is becoming the dominant global medium for IT service delivery on both fixed and wireless networks, according to new research.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report shows 60 per cent of member countries' web users are now on broadband.

The transition from circuit-switched telecommunications to packet-based networking on the internet has created a broadband data platform that is able to carry a wide range of services.

Broadband is typically associated with wired, high-speed internet connections, but mobile providers have started offering broadband-speed services (faster than 256kbit/s) over wireless networks in the past two years.

An OECD study in 2006 found that nearly 30 per cent of mobile operators offered a flat-rate third-generation (3G) data connection.

The report said countries that switched to fibre networks have the best speeds at the lowest prices.

In Japan, internet users have 100Mbit/s lines, 10 times higher than the OECD average. Japan's price for broadband per megabit per second is the lowest in the OECD at 0.11p, with Turkey the most expensive at £40.56.

In the US, the cheapest megabit-per-second broadband connection is £1.59 while in the UK it is £1.81.

The report finds Sweden offers the cheapest monthly broadband contract at £5.40 for a 256kbit/s connection.