Let’s assume download Internet speeds in the U.S. continue to grow at the same pace they have over the past year. How long do you think it would take us to catch up with current Internet speeds in South Korea?

One year? Two? Ten?

Try 15.

According to a recent Communications Workers of America (CWA) study, the average download Internet speed in the U.S. increased by only 0.9 Mbps between May 2008 and May 2009. At that rate, it would take us 15 years to catch up to current speeds in South Korea, the country with the fastest average connections.

Considering South Korea’s continued efforts to increase Internet speeds, we’re guessing they’re not going to sit around and wait for us – especially since we seem to have plenty of speed issues to deal with internally.

According to the CWA study, U.S. broadband users in the Northeastern or Mid-Atlantic states are likely to have better high-speed Internet options than anywhere else in the nation. Delaware, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York top the list of states with the fastest Internet speeds.

On the other hand, Internet speeds in Western states are more than three times slower. Hawaii, Idaho, Wyoming, Alaska and Montana are the nation’s five slowest states.

Overall, about 18 percent of U.S. users surveyed don’t even meet the Federal Communications Commission’s definition for broadband, which is at least a 768 Kbps downstream connection. And while some states managed to increase their nationwide speed ranking by more than 10 places over the surveyed time, some states fell far behind as their connection speeds either stayed the same or in some cases, actually decreased. CWA’s individual state rankings are available here.

At the Knight Center of Digital Excellence, we see this nationwide disparity as a call for a bold national broadband plan that puts the U.S. in a position to succeed. For more insight, read our “Go for gigabit speeds: America should expect nothing less.”