China to top world in fiber-optic broadband penetration by 2017

China’s internet may be censored, but that doesn’t mean it’s slow. Pushed forward by a government initiative to build out broadband, China’s telecoms have been installing a lot of fiber optic cable. Now, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) says that 80 percent of China’s broadband users will be on fiber optic by the end of the year. That would push China past South Korea, making it number one in the world in terms of the proportion of broadband users on mobile.

China’s internet still has quite a ways to go if it wants to catch up with South Korea.

All that broadband has come at a cost. MIIT says that in 2015, China laid 2.6 million kilometers (1.6 million miles) of fiber optic cable. Users have been willing to make the switch. More than 60 percent of China’s broadband users are currently on fiber optic connections. Japan and South Korea are ahead, with around 70 percent each, according to MIIT telecom development chief Wen Ku.

This doesn’t mean China’s internet will be faster than Korea’s, though. China’s average internet speed was still just 4.1 Mbps as of Q4 2015, compared with over 26 Mbps in Korea. Broadband speeds can get quite high. Wen Ku says Sichuan Telecom’s fiber optic broadband averages 61 Mbps, for example. But not everyone has a broadband connection yet.

China’s internet still has quite a ways to go if it wants to catch up with South Korea. Still, there’s no doubt the country has made great strides over the past decade in coverage and speed.