Broadband Abroad: Internet Connectivity Outside of the US (US far behind)

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Nearly 60 publications in countries ranging from Australia and Bangladesh to Venezuela and Vietnam either carry the PC World name or are associated with us in some way. So we asked editors at several of them to tell us how their readers get online. Not surprisingly, our colleagues report that many countries are substantially ahead of the United States in many respects.

For example, in the United Kingdom, you can buy DSL service with a download speed of up to 24 megabits per second. In Denmark, some people have fiber-optic connections as fast as 100 mbps. And in Italy and Spain, broadband service is cheap, and dial-up service is free (except for the cost of the local call). Still, many countries have their own connection quirks; read about them below.

Italy

In Italy, Internet users can subscribe to fiber-optic service from FastWeb. According to PC World Italia's Maurizio Lazzaretti, the service provides 10 mbps of bandwidth, though that's also used for television delivery. DSL service is less expensive but more common in less densely populated areas, with 4 mbps being the most common option; it costs about 20 euros per month (around $25) plus VAT (tax). Fiber-optic service costs twice that. With both types of services, subscribers can add VoIP capability for around 20 euros per month. Dial-up service is free, except for the local call.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, people have a few more options, though fiber optics isn't yet one of them. DSL speeds of up to 24 mbps for downloads and 1.3 mbps for uploads are available, though they're geographically limited, says Simon Jary, editorial director of PC Advisor. Rosemary Haworth, PC Advisor's features editor, adds that "in practice, the availability of such speeds is still very much limited to places within spitting distance of a British Telephone exchange enabled for such rates, so get fobbed off with 18 mbps if theya??re lucky." We should all be so lucky.

Broadband Abroad: ...