Broadband is Fundamental for Economic and Social Recovery
Hot off the tales of the HD summit last week in New York, I was bemused to see a BBC reporter sitting in the very seat I occupied in Central Park last week using the free Wi-Fi connection. While I could still use googletalk there (and overcome the VoIP challenges of a poor Wi-Fi connection) her report from Central Park was interesting because she might have as well been in rural Northern England and got a better connection.
BBC’s Michelle Fleury report was part of a larger article on broadband speeds available in member countries of the OECD. Fleury reported on how the US’s free market leaves it with slower web access than other countries. As well documented Japan, South Korea and the Northern European countries lead the world in broadband access, while the US saunters behind countries such as New Zealand, Czech Republic and Austria.
While the US broadband has been driven by free-market development, it is generally more expensive and slower than most other OECD countries. Now that $7 billion in US tax-payers funds has been earmarked for broadband development – the FCC will be responsible for rolling out faster and hopefully cheaper broadband.
Broadband networks are fundamental for economic and social development in every country. These networks serve as communication and transaction platforms, which are as crucial as other infrastructures such as roads, rails and airways.
At the HD summit, the mobile operator and Internet service provider, Orange (France Telecom) pointed out that they provide superior broadband speeds for 30 Euro per month – tax included. An equivalent broadband speed here in the US (50Mbps) costs between $90- $150 per month.
While this BBC report is dismaying, I’m an optimist and believe broadband speeds will increase in the US and with it the push for HD voice.
