I was surprised to see the UK several places ahead of the US in the list of Internet speeds.
Depends where what and how you're measuring !
However there are a number of reasons why the UK
should be ahead of many places in Europe and elsewhere. You only need to look at a map of the world to figure out the biggest reason...
However, the fact that the UK government charges business rates on fibre cables does not exactly entice development and competition in the domestic UK marketplace.
Old monopolistic BT on the other hand has, of course, managed to wangle a deal with the government and they pay some magically low fixed rate per property rather than the usual rates levied on fibres... which is why they've been so keen to deploy fibre to the green cabinets in the roads... and why in places where BT has the monopoly, other operators are forced to rent fibre capacity from BT at over-inflated prices.
If anyone living in the UK wants to do something useful, they can write to their local MP and ask (a) Why business rates continue to be levied on fibre, and (b) Why BT have been given such a preferential deal compared to what other operators (large or small) are forced to pay. Its all a bit like the old Window Tax of 1696 at the moment !
If you think I'm making mountains out of molehils, at the moment the UK government demands approximatley £241 per kilometer per annum for a simple pair of fibres (£289 per kilometer per annum inside London)... £636.24 per km per annum for a bundle of 20 ... the more fibres, the more you pay per km.
If you've ever seen how small a fibre is... how small a bundle of fibres is.... you would understand how the mind boggles. It doesn't matter if you're re-using or sharing existing street infrastructure such as ducts, you still pay the same hideous rates.