Japan and Korea retained their positions as offering the fastest broadband in the OECD, the organization reported.
Japan's broadband plans averaged 90.6Mbps in 2008, while Korea took second place with 78Mbps plans. Australia was in seventh position with 15.1Mbps.
Japan also had the fastest advertised fiber speeds, at 1 million Mbps. Korea, Denmark, Finland, France and Iceland all vied for second place with 100,000 Mbps offerings.
Fiber technology now accounts for 48% of all Japanese broadband subs, and 43% in Korea, although fiber subscriptions comprised just 10% of all broadband connections in the OECD by the end of the year. Korea had the highest fiber penetration rate, at 13.8 subs per 100 people.
Korea had the highest broadband penetration of any nation in Asia - and the sixth largest overall - with 32 subscribers per 100 inhabitants. Australia ranked 16th overall, with 25.4 per 100. Japan ranks in 17th place with 23.6.
By comparison, broadband takeup in OECD countries reached 22.6 subscribers per 100 inhabitants, the organization said. Subscriptions grew 13% in 2008.
Among OECD countries, Japan was beaten only by the US in terms of the total number of subs, rounding out the year with around 30.1 million. Korea had nearly 15.5 million, while Australia had almost 5.4 million.
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