Broadband operators to guarantee faster connection speed

SEOUL, Oct. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's major broadband operators agreed Tuesday to guarantee faster Internet connectivity to customers after a quality report showed that their subscription terms offered unrealistically low minimum speed rates, the nation's telecom regulator said.

The Korea Communication Commission said it held a meeting with representatives of
major broadband operators, including KT Corp., SK Broadband Inc. and LG Powercomm
Corp., where the companies agreed to raise their currently guaranteed minimum
connection speeds stipulated in their provisions.
A recent quality survey by the commission showed that download speeds by the top
seven companies stood at an average 75 percent of the maximum speed advertised.
This is higher than the average 1-10 percent of maximum speed they must guarantee
users under their policy stipulations, but the clause itself favors service
providers and can give false impressions.
The provisions will be updated to reflect the average download speed, the
commission said.
An upgrade in the minimum speed requirement is expected to push telecoms to
further endorse networks with higher speed amid an expected increase in demand of
Internet Protocol, or over-the-Internet television services, according to the
commission.
South Korea is one of the world's most wired nations, with 95 of the country's
homes connected to high-speed Internet, according to the latest government
report.