US Falling Behind in Broadband

Say what you want about whether we are better off with monopolies or competition in the broadband market, but the reality is that the US is falling further and further behind the rest of the world in this critical technology area. Muniwireless writes about a new report out from Free Press, the Consuemr Federation of America and Consumer's Union.

The new report tells us what we already know as consumers:

"Broadband Reality Check II exposes the truth behind America’s digital decline: A failed broadband policy that has left Americans with higher prices, slower speeds and no meaningful competition for high-speed Internet service."

Among the key findings:

The US is 16th overall in broadband penetration

U.S. consumers pay nearly twice as much as the Japanese for connections that are 20 times as slow

To read the executive summary of Broadband Reality Check II, go to http://www.freepress.net/docs/bbrc2-execsum.pdf

To read the full report, go to http://www.freepress.net/docs/bbrc2-final.pdf