The state of broadband around the globe: what you need to know

Pretty much everybody at this point knows the U.S. is trying to close its digital divide with the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. But what about the rest of the world?

• China: China in 2013 unveiled a plan to build a nationwide high-speed broadband network by 2020 that would boost download speeds in both urban and rural areas. As of 2023, 95% of internet users in China had access to a broadband connection of 100 Mbps or more.

• Germany: Germany has lagged in fiber penetration with a typical download speed (91 Mbps) just shy of the global 94 Mbps average. The German government in 2022 introduced the “Gigabitstrategie” program. Its mission? To deploy fiber and the latest mobile communications standard to all areas of the country by 2030. As an interim goal, Germany wants to pass 50% of homes with fiber by year-end 2025. 

• India: As the most populated country in the world, India’s broadband ambitions match that scale. India in 2011 kicked off the BharatNet project to deliver affordable, high-speed internet to every village in the country, allowing folks in those communities to access opportunities like telehealth and online education. As of December 2024, BharatNet had expanded fiber broadband access to more than 214,000 Indian villages and has installed over 104,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots in rural areas.

• Mexico: Mexico’s government in 2019 introduced a campaign for better broadband not unlike the U.S.' Internet For All initiative. It even has the same name: Internet para Todos. The initial objective was to connect everyone in Mexico by the end of 2023 via a combination of fiber, wireless, satellite and hybrid solutions. Rural internet access increased by 60% since 2018, from 10.8 million to 17.5 million people.