Thanks to Jamie for sending me an article from the BBC on Broadband Speeds Around the World. It’s a quick reference list that outlines on a very high level broadband in the following countries:

UK
France
Germany Sweden
South Africa
Israel
US
Mexico
Japan
South Korea
New Zealand
Poland
China

Here’s what they said about the US:

The US has an average speed of 8Mbps according to the OECD, although it is nearly half this (4.6Mbps) according to speedtest.net.

The US is unusual because it is one of the few countries in which cable is the largest connection network.
Typically cable is marketed at offering between 5Mbps and 20Mbps. Number of fibre providers, most notably Verizon which offers fibre to home, with speeds up to 20Mb, This is just available on the east coast. ATT is offering a hybrid DSL service while Qwest has just announced a fibre to street strategy.