S. Korea tops OECD members for Internet penetration

South Korea ranked first among advanced countries last year in terms of wireless high-speed Internet penetration, according to data by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Tuesday. South Korea was the leading country for wireless broadband subscriptions last year among the 34 OECD countries, with 89.8 per 100 people. The number of subscribers for high-speed wireless Internet access services reached 45.4 million at the end of last year, according to the data. Finland came in second with a penetration ratio of 84.8 percent, followed by Sweden with 82.9 percent and Norway with 79.9 percent. The average penetration of wireless Internet access services among the OECD countries was 41.6 percent last year, the data showed. Overall, wireless broadband subscriptions in OECD countries exceeded half a billion by the end of 2010, an increase of more than 10 percent from six months earlier. The proliferation of devices such as tablets and smartphones has rapidly driven up demand for wireless broadband and mobile data, experts said. Meanwhile, South Korea ranked fifth among the OECD countries in terms of fixed broadband subscriptions last year, with 34 out of every 100 residents using the fixed high-speed Internet service, according to the data.