A new US government report on the country’s broadband penetration paints a confident picture of a broadband (BB) infrastructure that has been in the past consistently ranked in the mid- to high teens in terms of penetration. Critics say the report exaggerates US BB prowess when it would be more productive to discuss national network weak spots and how to address them.
However, it all depends on whom you decide to believe, because a survey of the US BB situation issued in April of 2007 by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) claims that the birthplace of the Internet, the USA, actually dropped in the BB penetration rankings to 15th place falling behind Western Europe, Korea and Japan.
The OECD numbers are from studies completed by December of 2006 and not long after the embarrassing OECD figures were issued, the Bush administration vowed to “stimulate innovation” and improve the lot of US broadband.
According to a recent report issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) entitled “Networked Nation: Broadband in America, 2007,” the Bush formula worked and the BB situation in the US has literally improved 1000 per cent, described in a characteristically cheerful style by U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez as the “nation’s broadband success story!” Sounds more like the movie of the week.
The President’s policies have made a significant impact on the availability and affordability of broadband in the United States” … “broadband policies put in place by the President have created a competitive environment to foster innovation and provide effective technologies, services and cost-effective solutions to revolutionize health care delivery, education, society and the economy.”
What this translates to in real facts and figures is anyone’s guess.
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