Korea's monthly telecommunications expenditures third highest in OECD

The OECD has published the latest version of its annual report, entitled OECD Communications Outlook 2013.  This is recommended reading for those of you following global and regional trends in the ICT sector.

One of the items receiving quite a bit of attention in the local press is the report's data that show South Korean households spend more per month on telecommunications than any other OECD countries except for Japan and the U.S.  The accompanying bar chart is taken directly from the original online OECD report (click to see a full-size version).  The height of the bars represents U.S. dollars PPP (purchasing power parity)  According to this measure, a Japanese household on average spends $160.52 per month on telecommunications, while a U.S. household spends $153.13.   In China, represented by the bar on the far right, a household spent $30 per month as of 2009.
To me, the most striking aspect of this chart, apart from Korea's number three overall ranking, is the proportion of monthly expenditure accounted for by mobile communications.  Not surprisingly, this country is leading the way in the adoption of mobile broadband.