Broadband Speeds, Topped by South Korea and Japan Drop in Q4 2011 (Gallery)

South Korea and Japan continue to top the broadband speed top as compiled by Akamai. The two countries saw an average connection speed of 17.5 Mbps and 9.1 Mbps. But the top 10 fastest broadband chart has changed quite a bit in Q4 2011 compared to a year before.

What's more, the global average speed dropped in Q4 compared to the quarter before it. Year-over-year though, only Romania and Hong Kong saw a decrease in average speed from the top 10 countries.

When it comes to peak speed, things look a bit better; speeds were on the rise – or at least stable – in all of the top 10 countries, headed by South Korea with 47.9 Mbps average peak speed, Hong Kong with 45.9 Mbps and Romania with 35.2 Mbps.

Speed isn't everything, coverage is even more important. South Korea leads the way again with 83 percent of connections over 5 Mbps. The Netherlands is second with 67 percent and Japan third with 60 percent.