The penetration rate of super-speed Internet in Korea hit a record high in September, overall achieving 30 percent reach for the first time, according to a report released by the Korean Ministry of Information and Communication last week.

The super-speed Internet, including XDSL, HFC, LAN, FTTH and satellite Internet, is being used by 30.11 percent of the Korean population, a 0.14 percent growth from August.

The rate has been up for eight months continuously from January this year, when it marked 28.96 percent.

Compared to HDSL and very-high DSL (VDSL), XDSL offers much higher speeds - up to 32 Mbps for upstreaming, and from 32 Kbps to over 1 Mbps for downstream traffic.

To break down by region, the rate was highest in Seoul, with 35.6 percent. The rate in Incheon was 31.8 percent and Gyeonggi Province 31 percent.

Near-Seoul areas and bigger cities tend to have higher super-speed Internet penetration - Daejeon and Ulsan both marked 29.9 percent, Gwangju 29.1, Daegu 29, and Busan 28.6 percent.

North Jeolla Province, on the contrary, received the lowest in the rankings with 22 percent.

The high-speed Internet distribution rate among households also boosted 0.4 percent to 90.1 percent, exceeding 90 percent for the first time this year, Asia Media reported.