What Does “10G Speed” Mean?
Before we ask “which country has 10G speed,” we need to clarify what “10G” refers to:
In broadband and fiber optics, “10G” generally refers to 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) link or service. That equals 10,000 megabits per second (Mbps).
Sometimes “10G” is used in marketing loosely (e.g. “10G home network”) and might refer to theoretical capacity, not guaranteed customer speed.
In practice, delivering 10 Gbps to end users is extremely ambitious and requires advanced fiber, network, and infrastructure upgrades.
Thus, asking “which country has 10G speed” means: which country currently offers or is piloting or rolling out 10 Gbps services to real users (residential, business, or pilot deployments).
Which Country Is Leading 10G Deployments?
China: First Commercial 10G Network Launch
As of 2025, China is widely reported to be the first country to deploy a commercial 10G broadband network.
In Sunan County, Hebei Province, a 10G network was launched through a collaboration between Huawei and China Unicom.
Reported performance: download speeds up to 9,834 Mbps (~9.8 Gbps), upload speeds of 1,008 Mbps, and latency as low as 3 milliseconds.
The service is built using 50G PON (Passive Optical Network) technology, which allows much higher throughput over fiber infrastructure.
Because of this deployment, many observers now cite China as the first country to have real 10G broadband available commercially (or quasi-commercially).
So, strictly speaking: China currently holds the distinction of being the country that “has 10G” (at least in one region) in 2025.
Who Else Is Working on 10G or High-Speed Broadband?
While China leads, other countries, operators, and trials are working on or planning ultra-fast broadband that could approach 10G. Some are already using versions of 10G-PON (or XGS-PON, NG-PON2) for high speed fiber.
10G-PON Deployments & Trials
10G-PON (and variants like XGS-PON) are standards for delivering 10 Gbps downstream (and often symmetric or close symmetric upstream) via fiber. Many operators globally have trialed or started limited rollouts.
The Wikipedia article on 10G-PON lists several operators or countries that are using or trialing 10G fiber technology (Orange in Spain, M1 in Singapore, B2B operators in France, New Zealand’s Chorus, etc.).
For example, Singapore’s ISP M1 is listed as launching 2–10 Gbps GPON services.
France’s Netalis is a B2B operator launching 10 Gbps fiber service in Besançon.
In New Zealand, Chorus has trialed 10 Gbps services using XGS-PON.
These data points indicate that many advanced markets are preparing or supporting 10G-capable fiber networks, at least for business customers or pilot zones.
Another interesting case is Iceland. According to the “Internet in Iceland” overview:
Nearly all households are connected with full fiber (FTTH).
It states that “10 Gbit/s [is] available to most” households (or intended availability).
However, available to most does not necessarily mean fully deployed or commercially active at 10 Gbps in all regions. It suggests Iceland is preparing its network to support 10G speeds in many places.
Why Is 10G Deployment so Challenging?
Rolling out 10 Gbps speeds to end users (homes, small offices) is a major technical, economic, and logistical challenge. Here are key constraints:
Fiber Infrastructure Upgrade
To deliver 10G, providers often need fiber to the home (FTTH) or fiber deep into neighborhoods. Legacy copper, coax, or hybrid networks may not support this upgrade without significant investment.
PON Splitting and Shared Bandwidth
In a passive optical network architecture, fibers are shared among multiple subscribers. Upgrading to 10G (or PONs using 50G backbones) means ensuring that splitting ratios and contention do not degrade real speed for users.
Backhaul and Core Network Capacity
Even if the “last mile” supports 10G, the network backbone and backhaul links must also carry that traffic without congestion. That requires high-capacity routing, switching, and transport upgrades.
Cost of Equipment & Hardware
Optical line terminals (OLTs), optical network units (ONUs), transceivers, and switches that support 10G are more expensive. Upgrading millions of end-user devices is capital-intensive.
Business Case & Demand
Very few residential users currently demand 10G speeds for everyday tasks. Providers must find enough high-bandwidth customers (e.g. enterprises, data centers, remote production, AR/VR) to justify the investment.
Standardization, Interoperability, and Integration
New PON standards (like NG-PON2, 50 G PON) must interoperate with existing infrastructure. Smooth migration from 1G or 10G to higher is complex.
Because of these challenges, many providers adopt incremental upgrades — e.g. 1 Gbps, 2.5 Gbps, 5 Gbps — before 10 Gbps becomes widespread.
Implications & What 10G Enables
Deploying 10 Gbps capabilities at scale can bring transformative effects:
Ultra-HD and 8K streaming, VR/AR: multiple simultaneous streams at high resolution no longer strain the network.
Cloud computing, remote work, real-time collaboration: large data sets (e.g. video editing, scientific data) can be moved faster.
Edge computing & IoT: dense urban sensors, autonomous vehicle data, smart city infrastructure can generate vast throughput.
Medical, telemedicine, remote surgery: ultra-low latency, high bandwidth links make remote interventions more feasible.
Industry & smart manufacturing: real-time control of robotics, sensors, simulations in factories.
Thus, 10G is not just about “faster internet for users,” but underpins next-gen digital economies.