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Asia Minute: Ranking Technology Prowess

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Wikipedia Commons

How fast is your internet connection? Of all the charms and wonders of Hawai‘i, speedy broadband access doesn’t make the list.  In fact, according to one survey last year, we rank 46th in the country for average speed of connection.  And the latest tech news about Asia makes the comparison even more sobering.  HPR’s Bill Dorman has more in today’s Asia Minute.

Ranking technology use by location can be a tricky business.  Several times a year, various groups report on different measures of technological prowess and adoption.

Relative speed of broadband is one measure—how quickly can you connect to the internet and how reliable is that connection?  Akamai Technologies tracks that metric… Hawaiian word, Massachusetts company.

South Korea retains the company’s top spot in the world for average connection speed…nearly five times the global average and more than three times as fast as Hawai‘i.  But that’s just one slice of technology.

The German marketing firm GfK just put out what it calls its “Connected Consumer Index”—which compares the popularity of 11 devices among 78 countries, territories and regions.  The gadgets range from smartphones and tablets to wearable technology and connected cars---and home appliances linked by computer-assisted technology.

By this measure, Hong Kong is the most connected place on earth.  Regionally, North America is next, followed by the United Arab Emirates.  In the Asia Pacific, Singapore and Australia score comparatively well.  One factor that really helps Hong Kong’s top ranking: telecom charges for mobile phones and other devices there are among the cheapest in the world.

Bill Dorman has been the news director at Hawaiʻi Public Radio since 2011.
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