According to OECD, Israel has one of the slowest average Internet connections in international comparison, Ministry of Communications deputy director general economics Assaf Cohen told the Knesset Science and Technology Committee today. Many OECD members, including Greece, Turkey, and Poland, have far faster Internet access.

Cohen presented a table that clearly placed Israel at the bottom of a list of major countries in terms of average Internet access speed, including France, Japan, and South Korea. The usual Internet access speed for an Israeli customer is 2-2.5 megabits per second, compared with 90 megabits per second in Japan, 80 megabits per second in South Korea, and 50 megabits per second in France.

Israel was once proud to have one the highest broadband penetration rates in the world; that was then. Today, Cohen's presentation showed Israel at only mid-point among OECD countries.

Cohen presented figures compiled by the Central Bureau of Statistics, which showed that, in 2008, 71% of Israeli households had a computer, and 17.4% had two or more computers. 62% of households with computers had Internet access. 88% of households in the top 10% had Internet access, compared with 28% of households in the bottom 10%.

Cohen said that high-speed Internet access at competitive prices makes possible advanced and time-saving computer applications, which strengthen the information economy.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 7, 2009

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