• by Wayne Friedman , June 26, 2014

Which country is ready to throw out its current HDTVs? South Korea maybe; not so much in the U.S.

A study by Internet content delivery network Akamai says in the first quarter of this year, 17% of the U.S. is “ready” for 4K TV, sometimes known as Ultra HDTV, which has four times the quality of current HDTV.

What does it consider “ready”? It’s not about content, but broadband speed -- higher broadband speeds of 15 Mbps or better to see 4K television content. Of all countries, the U.S. is ranked in 13th place when it comes to these better broadband speeds.

South Korea is at the top of the list with 60% of that country getting speeds of 15 Mbps or more. Japan is next (32%); Hong Kong (26%); Switzerland (23%); Lativa (23%); Netherlands (22%), Norway (18%); Finland (18%); and Czech Republic (17%), complete the top 10.

Of the 47 countries surveyed, 11% of nations average 15 Mbps over more broadband speeds -- with half of the countries at rated above 10%. India (0.3%) and China (0.2%) are the bottom of the country list of 4K readiness.
South Korea was also at the highest average speed overall -- 23.6 Mbps -- with Japan at 14.6; Hong Kong at 13.3; Switzerland at 12.7; and the Netherlands, 12.4.