Ookla, a website that gauges internet speed, on Dec. 20 said 5G download speed in Korea was the fastest among 128 countries. (Screen capture Ookla's website)

By Hong Angie

Korea has the world's fastest 5G download speed among 128 countries surveyed for the second consecutive year.

Ookla, a Seattle-based website that gauges internet speed, on Dec. 20 said the median 5G download speed in Korea in the third quarter was a world-leading 516.15 megabits per second (Mbps).

Second was the United Arab Emirates with 511.70 Mbps, followed in order by Bulgaria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Singapore. Norway, which was second in last year's poll, fell out of the top 10 this year.

Korea also ranked third in 5G availability, or the percentage of time 5G access is available out of a user's time with a smartphone, with 34.5%.

The U.S. topped this category with 54.3％, followed by Cyprus (47.7％), Korea, Australia (33.3%) and Thailand (28.8%).

The global median of 5G download speed was 168.27 Mbps, faster than 166.13 last year.

Isla McKetta, Ookla's senior director of consumer marketing who wrote the report, said, "5G is no longer a new technology, however, consumers in many countries are still waiting to see the full benefits of 5G (or even to connect to 5G at all)."

shong9412@korea.kr