TrekExpert said:
Why is it that everywhere else BUT North America gets super-fast internet...
Because most of the world was lucky to have indoor plumbing, whereas a lot of our infrastructure has been around for ages, and you have to deal with easement, eminent domain, and half the world's lawyers when you try to do any major construction. (Case in point 710 Freeway in Los Angeles, for anyone familiar with the situation). We're saddled with so much bureaucracy, red tape, sweetheart deals, and so forth that it takes a miracle to upgrade anything.
Someone has to pay for all this stuff. Its a lot easier to install something that was never there in the first place than upgrade aging stuff. This is one of the downsides to being first in everything. For instance, a quarter of South Korea's population lives in Seoul, not that difficult to give everyone there super fast internet.