PC World recently published a range of articles on broadband. If you have a friend or colleague who has wanted to know more about broadband but was too busy to ask – you could send them these articles.

Broadband Policy: The Connected Nation Model – gives a nice description of Connected Nation. They point out that what makes Connected Nation (built from ConnectKentucky) a winner is their ability to tell a story. I have wondered in the past why Connected Nation seems to have caught the imagination of policymakers and I think this is it.

To Connected Nation’s credit, they work with local communities, recognizing that one solution does not fit all and only by working with locals are you create a solution that will work locally.

A strike against Connected Nation is its strong affiliation with incumbent providers.

Broadband: How the US Stacks up – highlights points for and arguments against the OECD report. In short, in the US we pay more for less broadband that more than half of the 30 countries that the OECD investigates. People can make excuses for this showing – but if we want to be world class I think we have to listen to the criticism and try to do better.

Does the US Need a New Broadband Policy? – I have to admit this was another good article. It outlines the facets of a broadband policy such as net neutrality, competition, deregulation, universal access and more. Here’s my favorite line:

U.S. residents have to decide what they want: fast broadband or broadband competition, Atkinson [Robert Atkinson of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF)] said.

I don’t know if it’s true but it does seem that the desire to maintain competition is what separates the US from many other countries. Other countries either have the power to demand that providers act a certain way or they manage the providers.