According to research by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Iceland is the country with the highest broadband penetration rate, topping even South Korea, which is usually considered the country with the highest concentration of broadband users. Iceland has 26.7 percent of Internet users on Broadband, while South Korea has 25%.
The UK ranked twelfth, with a broadband penetration rate of just 15.9%, just behind the USA, with 16.8%. However, in terms of the number of broadband users, the US leads the pack with 49 million in all.
Broadband penetration is correlated with a higher likelihood of people conducting business online, especially through e-commerce portals. Faster connections mean faster transaction turnovers, better sales, and higher revenues. This extends to non-traditional means of accessing broadband, such as via mobile networks that support high-speed multimedia and mobile-commerce services. For instance, Japan and South Korea are at the forefront of mobile-commerce, with users being able to do just about any type of commercial and business transaction via their mobile phones. This is also fast catching on in Europe, particularly the UK and the Nordic countries.