The OECD ranks broadband penetration, growth, coverage and use of broadband of their 30 member countries.
The US is holding at number 15 for broadband penetration; the really bad news is that we’re down to 17th in broadband growth, which indicates to me that our solid ranking of 15 must be in jeopardy. I’m afraid we’re going to fare even worse soon if we don’t starting rowing together in the right direction.
Two of the greatest strikes against us are cost of broadband and speeds offered. Almost have of the 30 OECD member countries have faster broadband and 60 percent pay less.
The OECD makes recommendations to help broadband and I see theme emerging that I brought up last week when comparing the Broadband 2.0 Manifesto from Heavy Reading and the Blandin Foundation’s Live at the Speed of Light report. Specifically they mention:
Open Access
Affordable
Always On
Abundant Bandwidth
Competition
Neutrality
Interoperability
Safe and Secure
Policy-enabled
Wired and wireless (wireless especially as a means to reach rural communities)
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