South Korea reportedly topped the global ranking on the number of the Internet of Things (IoT)-connected devices. Experts are saying that the nation has taken a step forward to become an infrastructure powerhouse in the IoT market, which is still in its early stages.
The number of IoT-connected devices per 100 Koreans is 37.9, which put the nation in the top spot, said the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) on July 16, citing the OECD Digital Economy Outlook 2015 published by the OECD on July 15. Denmark was in the runner-up position with 32.7 units, followed by Switzerland with 29 units, and the U.S. with 24.9 units. Among the OECD’s 34 member countries, the gap between Korea and other countries in the top slots is wide. There are 18 million IoT-connected devices in Korea, which placed the country in the third spot, following the U.S. (84 million units), and China (78 million units.)
Korea nabbed the top spot in the proportion of ICT value added to the entire one reflected in commodity prices with 10.7 percent as of 2013. The nation also topped the global ranking on download speeds and average connection speeds, and was the only OECD member country that saw the weight of ICT exports grow in 2013 compared to 2001. In addition, Korea occupied the runner-up position in the ratio of ICT employment to total employment with 4 percent, and accounted for 6 percent of the total ICT exports around the world, propelling the country to fourth place.
Prices for mobile services in the nation are considered to be lower than those for OECD member countries on average. Mobile telecommunications bundles are the second-cheapest in Korea, following France.
However, the country ranked 28th in homepage ownership and 24th in the use of cloud computing services. Korea's low ranking of the use of cloud computing is presumably due to the fact that small businesses comprise a large proportion of the industry.