Embarrassing. Abysmal. Pathetic.

These are the words that used to come to mind when I considered Internet Service Providers (ISP) in the US. To me, they seemed so slow and costly. Then I did some analysis. Now what word do I use to describe them?

Blah.

With Google's recent announcement that it plans to expand Gigabit Internet to 34 new cities (that's 1,000 Mbps - yee-ha!), I was curious as to how US ISPs measure-up against those in the rest of the world. After a day spent scouring the Internet of 99 different geographies, some very interesting conclusions appeared:

Biggest WTF: A hardy congratulations goes out to... Romania? Yes, indeed my fellow surfers. Romania not only provides 1,000 Mbps downloads speeds, but they do it for the low, low price of USD $0.02/Mbps. Wow. Just wow. Because there's little doubt you'll believe some of these conclusions, I've included a link to all prices and, additionally, I've included the spreadsheet below so you can see the data. (If you find any errors, especially if I misinterpreted some translated text, please let me know and I will update.)

Gaining the top spot deserves an extra shout-out to the fine folks at RCS & RDS, with pictures as proof:

I still can't get over it. Admittedly, I didn't even know where Romania was. I had to look it up. Ah ha! Transylvania! Vampire stories! Bram Stoker's Dracula! Now I remember. Based on their Internet pricing, I think it's proper the world recognize Romania as no longer associated with blood suckers. Who's with me?

Highest fist pump: The undisputed leader in speed goes where I would have expected: Japan. At 2,000 Mbps, they are double the speeds of their fastest competitors (only 6 of the 99 ISPs evaluated offered speeds of 1,000 Mbps). Japan has a long history of technology leadership, so I'd have been surprised if they weren't in one of the top spots. But what is even more incredible is they also charge a measly USD $0.02/Mbps. It's like their blood brothers with Romania. (Sorry, but someone had to say it.) I'm beside myself at this point. So-net - even though I can't read a word of Japanese, you're pure, unadulterated awesomeness!

Most painful face palm: Perhaps it is because Greenland has been incorrectly sized for so many years on maps across the world that they think their Internet prices should also be large. Or maybe they're just trying to compensate for something else. At USD $69.00/Mbps, they are the undisputed loser for their paltry "8,192 kbit." (Their speed was so slow they had to put it in terms of Kbps instead of Mbps so it looked larger. They call it their "X-large" package. We see what you did there. Like I said, trying to compensate...) I was curious why Greenland would be so expensive. With countries like Kenya (USD $57.01/Mbps) and Nepal (USD $29.92/Mbps), it is logical prices would be somewhat high. But Greenland? Is it because you have to dig into all that ice to lay the cable? Curious, I did some checking. Ah, here it is, straight from Wikipedia: "Greenland has, by law, only one service provider for telecommunications and the Internet, TELE Greenland, which is fully owned by the Greenlandic Home Rule government." Well that explains it.

Biggest surprise: With twice as many people online as the entire US population, China ranks #80 in terms of value (100 Mbps at USD $4.57). Overall, China appears to be paying an awful price given the sheer volume of users. Hypothetically, basic supply and demand theory suggests price is driven down as demand goes up (because more suppliers should enter the market to gain the increased revenues). Yet, that doesn't appear to happen in China relative to the rest of the world. I can only assume it has something to do with the Great Firewall of China. Of course, this doesn't take into account Hong Kong, which made it into the top 10, earning a very respectable #7 (1,000 Mbps at USD $0.08/Mbps). The Brits ought to go back and visit Hong Kong to learn a few things about Internet value. And to think it was only 1 year ago that Hong Kong was hitting the fastest peak speed of 54 Mbps.

The Blah: Which leaves us with #46. Almost smack-dab in the middle is the US at an unimpressive USD $0.86/Mbps. Sure, it's slightly better than the UK at #48, but come on! This is the first country to put people on the Moon, yet they can't manage higher speeds at lower rates? You call that technology prowess? Pfft. Where are the freakin' rocket scientists when you need them? Russia (USD $0.24/Mbps) may not beat us in hockey, but they sure kick our butts in the long game.

A few disclaimers: Obviously, the data cannot be used in a strict apples-to-apples comparison, as there are many other factors that come into play with the various offerings. For example, some Internet services appeared to only come bundled with other services (i.e., it didn't appear you could purchase stand-alone Internet). External costs, special initial discounts, requirements, and limits (e.g., modem rentals, taxes, installation, length of service contract, monthly data caps) were not considered, nor where upload speeds, but are all certainly factors when evaluating total cost of ownership. Somewhat random companies were picked from these incredibly large geographies. Thus, depending on your location, these rates and speeds might not be available, or you might be able to do better. Directionally, however, the data seems to support the conclusions. You will be the judge. Please let me know of any wild discrepancies in your local area.

Postscript: It appears I am unable to upload the spreadsheet to this site. Instead, I've pasted the tables and the .csv below, which you can easily import into a spreadsheet.

Rank Geography ISP Download Speed (Mbps) Local Currency Price (Local) Exchange Rate Price (USD) Cost per Mbps (USD) 1 Romania http://www.rcs-rds.ro 1,000 RON 59.00 3.2849 $17.96 $0.02 2 Japan http://www.so-net.ne.jp 2,000 JPY 4,743.00 102.5100 $46.27 $0.02 3 Jamaica http://www.centurylink.com 10 JMD 39.95 108.8100 $0.37 $0.04 4 Singapore https://secure.myrepublic.com.sg 1,000 SGD 49.99 1.2687 $39.40 $0.04 5 Republic of Moldova http://www.starnet.md 200 MDL 200.00 13.7400 $14.56 $0.07 6 Sweden http://www.bredbandsbolaget.se 1,000 SEK 479.00 6.5320 $73.33 $0.07 7 Hong Kong http://www.netvigator.com 1,000 HKD 598.00 7.7557 $77.10 $0.08 8 Lithuania https://www.teo.lt 300 LTL 69.90 2.5493 $27.42 $0.09 9 Latvia http://lattelecom.lv 400 EUR 28.89 0.7281 $39.68 $0.10 10 Hungary http://www.upc.hu 240 HUF 8,290.00 226.1630 $36.65 $0.15 11 Czech Republic http://www.upc.cz 240 CZK 929.00 19.9341 $46.60 $0.19 12 Belgium http://offres.numericable.fr 200 EUR 29.90 0.7281 $41.07 $0.21 13 Luxembourg https://www.post.lu 1,000 EUR 149.99 0.7281 $206.00 $0.21 14 Taiwan http://www.cht.com.tw 100 TWD 700.00 30.4002 $23.03 $0.23 15 Slovakia http://www.upc.sk 150 EUR 25.90 0.7281 $35.57 $0.24 16 Russia http://moskva.beeline.ru 100 RUB 865.00 35.5037 $24.36 $0.24 17 Finland http://www.sonera.fi 150 EUR 29.90 0.7281 $41.07 $0.27 18 France http://www.orange.fr 200 EUR 39.90 0.7281 $54.80 $0.27 19 Germany http://www.telekom.de 200 EUR 39.95 0.7281 $54.87 $0.27 20 Bulgaria http://www.mtel.bg 100 BGN 39.90 1.4292 $27.92 $0.28 21 Poland http://www.orange.pl 80 PLN 69.00 3.0785 $22.41 $0.28 22 South Korea http://www.skbroadband.com 100 KRW 32,010.00 1,074.1100 $29.80 $0.30 23 Estonia https://www.elion.ee 100 EUR 24.00 0.7281 $32.96 $0.33 24 Ireland http://www.upc.ie 200 EUR 52.00 0.7281 $71.42 $0.36 25 Mexico http://www.axtel.mx 200 MXN 999.00 13.2678 $75.30 $0.38 26 Iceland http://www.siminn.is 200 ISK 8,690.00 113.8700 $76.32 $0.38 27 Macau https://www.ctm.net/cportal 100 MOP 318.00 8.1141 $39.19 $0.39 28 Israel http://www.hot.net.il 100 ILS 139.00 3.5127 $39.57 $0.40 29 Switzerland http://www.upc-cablecom.ch 250 CHF 89.00 0.8884 $100.18 $0.40 30 Spain http://www.movistar.es 100 EUR 29.90 0.7281 $41.07 $0.41 31 Canada https://www.shaw.ca 250 CAD 120.00 1.1119 $107.92 $0.43 32 Turkey http://www.ttnet.com.tr 1,000 TRY 1,103.00 2.1806 $505.82 $0.51 33 Andorra http://www.andorratelecom.ad 100 EUR 39.00 0.7281 $53.56 $0.54 34 Italy http://www.telecomitalia.it 100 EUR 39.00 0.7281 $53.56 $0.54 35 Netherlands https://www.ziggo.nl 150 EUR 58.95 0.7281 $80.96 $0.54 36 Brazil http://www.vivofibra.com.br 100 BRL 129.80 2.3506 $55.22 $0.55 37 Georgia http://www.co.ge 100 GEL 100.00 1.7387 $57.51 $0.58 38 Uruguay http://www.antel.com.uy 120 UYU 1,590.00 22.8620 $69.55 $0.58 39 Portugal http://meo.pt 200 EUR 86.99 0.7281 $119.48 $0.60 40 Aland Islands http://www.alcom.ax 100 EUR 47.70 0.7281 $65.51 $0.66 41 Greece http://www.forthnet.gr 50 EUR 25.00 0.7281 $34.34 $0.69 42 Ukraine http://www.ukrtelecom.ua 20 UAH 130.00 9.0301 $14.40 $0.72 43 Serbia http://www.sbb.rs 120 RSD 7,690.00 84.8050 $90.68 $0.76 44 Amsterdam https://www.kpn.com 80 EUR 46.50 0.7281 $63.86 $0.80 45 Austria https://www.a1.net 30 EUR 17.90 0.7281 $24.58 $0.82 46 United States http://www.comcast.com 105 USD 89.99 1.0000 $89.99 $0.86 47 Liechtenstein http://fl1.li 20 CHF 15.00 0.8884 $16.88 $0.87 48 United Kingdom http://www.bt.com 76 GBP 41.99 0.6019 $69.76 $0.92 49 India http://microsites.tatacommunications.com 100 INR 6,000.00 61.9520 $96.85 $0.97 50 Saudi Arabia http://www.stc.com.sa 200 SAR 799.00 3.7511 $213.00 $1.07 51 Chile http://vtr.com 120 CLP 71,990.00 555.3000 $129.64 $1.08 52 Malta http://www.melita.com 100 EUR 80.00 0.7281 $109.88 $1.10 53 San Marino http://www.telecomitalia.sm 20 EUR 16.65 0.7281 $22.87 $1.14 54 New Zealand http://www.slingshot.co.nz 100 NZD 139.00 1.2095 $114.92 $1.15 55 Bosnia and Herzegovina http://www.bhtelecom.ba 50 BAM 93.60 1.4237 $65.74 $1.31 56 Denmark http://tdc.dk/ 40 DKK 289.00 5.4326 $53.20 $1.33 57 Vietnam http://vietteltelecom.vn 12 VND 350,000.00 21,345.0000 $16.40 $1.37 58 Madagascar http://www.telma.mg 100 MGA 329,000.00 2,357.5000 $139.55 $1.40 59 Bahamas http://www.cablebahamas.com 50 BSD 70.70 1.0076 $70.17 $1.40 60 Isle of Man http://www.manxtelecom.com 40 GBP 36.45 0.6019 $60.56 $1.51 61 Slovenia http://www.telekom.si 100 EUR 115.90 0.7281 $159.18 $1.59 62 Argentina http://venta.arnet.com.ar 15 ARS 200.00 7.8551 $25.46 $1.70 63 Qatar http://www.ooredoo.qa 100 QAR 650.00 3.6434 $178.40 $1.78 64 Fiji http://www.connect.com.fj 10 FJD 35.00 1.8811 $18.61 $1.86 65 United Arab Emirates http://www.du.ae 100 AED 750.00 3.6740 $204.14 $2.04 66 Norway https://www.telenor.no 40 NOK 499.00 6.0826 $82.04 $2.05 67 Cayman Islands http://www.lime.com 105 KYD 200.00 0.8459 $236.43 $2.25 68 Croatia https://www.hrvatskitelekom.hr 20 HRK 264.23 5.5785 $47.37 $2.37 69 Puerto Rico http://contenidos.clarotodo.com 50 USD 129.99 1.0000 $129.99 $2.60 70 Saint Martin http://www.dauphintelecom.fr 20 EUR 37.90 0.7281 $52.05 $2.60 71 Australia https://www.tpg.com.au 20 AUD 59.99 1.1148 $53.81 $2.69 72 Morocco http://www.iam.ma 20 MAD 499.00 8.3908 $59.47 $2.97 73 Panama http://www.cwpanama.com 25 PAB 79.95 1.0210 $78.31 $3.13 74 Peru http://www.movistar.com.pe 8 PEN 79.00 2.8619 $27.60 $3.45 75 Cyprus https://www.cyta.com.cy 32 EUR 84.89 0.7281 $116.59 $3.64 76 Malaysia http://tmshop.tm.com.my 20 MYR 249.00 3.2967 $75.53 $3.78 77 Jersey http://www.jtglobal.com 20 GBP 49.99 0.6019 $83.05 $4.15 78 Philippines http://pldthome.com 100 PHP 20,000.00 44.6777 $447.65 $4.48 79 South Africa http://www.nexus.co.za 10 ZAR 499.00 10.9494 $45.57 $4.56 80 China http://sh.189.cn 100 CNY 2,800.00 6.1260 $457.07 $4.57 81 Lesotho http://www.etl.co.ls 15 LSL 950.00 10.9494 $86.76 $5.78 82 Bermuda https://www.logic.bm 25 BMD 149.95 1.0000 $149.95 $6.00 83 Pakistan http://www.ptcl.com.pk 16 PKR 11,000.00 105.8400 $103.93 $6.50 84 Dominican Republic http://www.tricom.net 100 DOP 28,500.00 43.5020 $655.14 $6.55 85 Egypt http://www.telecomegypt.com.eg 24 EGP 1,250.00 7.0534 $177.22 $7.38 86 Colombia http://hogares.etb.com.co 10 COP 162,740.00 2,045.5000 $79.56 $7.96 87 Ecuador http://www.etapa.net.ec 10 USD 78.00 1.0000 $78.00 $7.96 88 Montenegro http://www.telekom.me 7 EUR 45.76 0.7281 $62.85 $8.98 89 Brunei Darussalam https://www.telbru.com.bn 30 BND 465.00 1.2817 $362.80 $12.09 90 Oman http://www.nawras.om 5 OMR 24.00 0.3861 $62.16 $12.43 91 Lebanon http://www.cyberia.net.lb 8 USD 113.99 1.0000 $113.99 $14.25 92 Thailand http://www.3bb.co.th 100 THB 48,300.00 32.6110 $1,481.10 $14.81 93 Kuwait http://www.qualitynet.net 24 KWD 112.00 0.2825 $396.46 $16.52 94 Virgin Islands, British http://www.lime.com/vg 8 USD 148.00 1.0000 $148.00 $18.50 95 Mauritius http://www.bees.mu 10 MUR 5,819.00 31.3600 $185.55 $18.56 96 Barbados http://www.freemotion.bb/ 10 BBD 399.00 1.9916 $200.34 $20.03 97 Nepal http://www.worldlink.com.np 1 NPR 3,000.00 100.2600 $29.92 $29.92 98 Kenya http://www.orange.co.ke 2 KES 9,999.00 87.7000 $114.01 $57.01 99 Greenland http://www.tele.gl 8 DKK 2,999.00 5.4326 $552.04 $69.00 Average: $4.36

Data in .csv format