Korea Plans For Broadband Everywhere By 2005

SEOUL, South Korea -- The Korean government said it wants 84 percent of the nations households accessing the Internet at a super-fast 20 megabits per second by 2005.

The broadband plan is outlined in a Ministry of Information and Communication proposal titled "A Basic Plan For Upgrading Ultra High-Speed Information Network." The Korean government adopted the ministrys plan last week, along with its target of wiring 13.5 million households with 20Mbps ultra high-speed Internet services.

A total of 20 trillion won ($15.28 billion) has been budgeted for the project, including 17 trillion won ($12.99 billion) from the private sector. Other targets outlined in the plan include wireless access to the Internet at speeds of up to 2Mbps by the end of 2005, light years ahead of current average speeds.

The ministry also predicts most Korean families will have two or three personal computers in their homes by 2005, networked with home appliances and other Internet devices.

Korea is recognized as one the most advanced nations in the world when it comes to broadband. According to a May study by Internet-measurement company NetValue Korea, 42 percent of Korean households were connected to the Internet in May and two-thirds of these were on broadband connections.

Adam Creed, Newsbytes