APAC is home to both some of the fastest and slowest average broadband speeds in the world, and the gap between the haves and the have-nots threatens to widen.
Mobile video platform operator Akamai has again conducted a connection speed analysis of the extensive traffic through its global server network, with the latest results showing a decline in average speeds across many Asian markets.
Korea easily held on to its position as the country with the fastest average broadband speeds of all countries served by Akamai content in Q1, with this average increasing by nearly 10% year-on-year to 12 Mbps.
Hong Kong was in second place at 9 Mbps, with its average growing 19% in a year. And while speeds in Japan shrank 1.6%, the country was in third place at 7.8 Mbps.
Some up, more down
But it was a different story for the rest of Asia. More countries in the region saw reductions in average speeds than gains. Singapore, the Philippines, India and China all saw year-on-year declines of over 10%, with China's average speed declining 15%.
According to Akamai director of market intelligence David Belson, last-mile congestion could be a factor behind this slump. Other factors, such as increased simultaneous home network usage, could also be influencing the figures.
Of the 12 APAC countries included in the study, nine averaged speeds below the 5 Mbps threshold for "high broadband." Taiwan was the only other Asian nation to make it into the global top 40, with the 19th fastest overall average speed of 4.3 Mbps.
Also notable is the spread between countries. As well as having some of the fastest average speeds, APAC has some of the slowest, including China in 124th place, India in 118th and the Philippines in 113th.
Despite its status as a developed economy, Australia placed just 50th on the global table, with average speeds of 2.6 Mbps. Neighboring New Zealand was higher-ranked at 42nd with 2.9 Mbps, and also increased its speeds 1% year-on-year, compared to an 8.6% decline in Australia.
But some mid-range countries saw much more significant gains in average speeds. Thailand, ranked 44th worldwide, increased its average 71% year-on-year to 2.8 Mbps while Malaysia, in 101st place, grew its average 11% to 1.1 Mbps.
The average maximum connection speed recorded in Korea was 32.7 Mbps, compared to nearly 30 Mbps in Hong Kong and 25.7 Mbps in Japan.
This compares to 2.7 Mbps in China, 4.6 Mbps in India and 9.7 Mbps in Australia. Taiwan, the next highest country in Asia by this metric, was again 19th overall with 14 Mbps.
The gap between the highest and lowest countries, particularly South Korea and China, is lower by this metric than by average speeds.
Likewise, ten of the 12 APAC territories increased their average maximum speeds quarter-on-quarter, and the declines in Singapore and the Philippines were quite modest when compared to some of the reductions in average speed.
But on a year-on-year basis, only the six fastest countries in Asia increased their average maximum - with Thailand seeing the highest growth at 31% - while the remaining six all saw year-on-year declines.
Korea and Japan dominate the list of the 100 cities worldwide with the fastest connection speed, with 11 Korean cities and 53 from Japan making the grade.
Eight of the top 10 spots - including 1st placed Masan - are filled by Korean cities, with two from Japan. Korea's showing here is particularly impressive because Korea only has 150 urban areas, compared to Japan's 780, Belson said.
Hong Kong and Taiwan were the only other Asian countries to achieve inclusion in the list.
APAC racing ahead by sub growth
While connection speed growth appears to be fluctuating in APAC, the region is unambiguously leading the pack when it comes to broadband subscriber growth.
Asia-Pacific saw gains of around three million new fixed broadband users last quarter alone, according to ABI Research.
Point Topic estimates that more than 53% of global broadband subscribers added in Q1 hail from Asia. The region now houses 32.4% of all broadband users.
China may be lagging behind in terms of connection speeds, but it is leading by both the number of subscribers and customer growth.
China alone is home to around 59% of total APAC broadband subscribers, and accounted for 45% of global lines added in Q1, according to the researchers' figures.