Google's 10 Gigabit Internet vs. The World

If you consistently find yourself frustrated with sluggish Internet speeds, Google may have a solution soon. The search engine giant is working on technology that could offer data rates as fast as 10 gigabits per second-- which it claims is 10 times speedier than today's already blazing Google Fiber.

The project is part of Google's long-term initiative to bring next-generation Internet that can better accommodate data-intensive applications and stable connections. Google Fiber currently offers data transfer speeds that reach 1 Gbps, which is significantly higher than the average US connection speed of 7.2 Mbps, according to ZDNet, and the average global connection speed of 3.6 Mbps, as research firm Akamai noted in its most recent study.

Google's goal of 10 Gbps is certainly speedy, but to put that number in perspective here's how it compares to the fastest average peak Internet connections around the globe.

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Hong Kong

As of Q3 2013, Hong Kong boasts the fastest Internet connections in the world. With an average peak speed of 65.4 Mbps, Hong Kong landed the number one spot in Akamai's quarterly State of the Internet study. This network speed is up by 21 percent when compared to its rates from Q3 2012, and it also nearly quadruples the global average peak connection speed of 17.9 Mbps. Still, considering 1,000 megabits equals one gigabit, it doesn't come close to the Internet speeds Google claims to be working on.

South Korea

South Korea, home to electronics giantsLG and Samsung, boasts an average peak Internet speed of 63.6 MBps. This is a 19 percent increase when compared to its data speeds from the previous quarter.

Japan

Japan ranked third on Akamai's list of the fastest global peak Internet speeds. As of Q3 2013, Japan's fiber optics delivered an impressive 52 Mbps, placing it just under South Korea on the list.

Singapore

Singapore boasted an average peak Internet speed of 50.1 Mbps, nearly tripling the global average peak speed as of Q3 2013.

Israel

A home to many budding startups such as Waze and Outbrain, it's no surprise that Israel offers one of the fastest Internet connections in the world. As of Q3 2013 Israel's peak average Internet connection hit 47.7 Mbps.

The United States resides at number 13 on Akamai's list with an average peak Internet speed of 37 Mbps-- a far cry from the 10Gbps Google hopes to achieve. To put that number in perspective, 37 Mbps equals roughly 0.036 Gbps.

Google's effort is similar to a project in the UK, in which researchers were able to hit data speeds of 10 Gbps through a technology called Li-Fi, which uses light-emitting diodes with flicker adjustments to send out digital information. 

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