These stats are mind-boggling. [1] The U.S. is not a good place to have access to a fast or reasonably priced Internet connection:
The average broadband download speed in the US is only 1.9 megabits per second, compared to 61 Mbps in Japan, 45 Mbps in South Korea, 18 Mbps in Sweden, 17 Mpbs in France, and 7 Mbps in Canada, according to the Communication Workers of America.
CWA President Larry Cohen testified before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, in support of a discussion draft of the Broadband Census of America Act.
“Good data is the foundation of good policy,” Cohen said. “We desperately need a national Internet policy to reverse the fact that our nation – the country that invented the Internet – has fallen to 16th in the world in broadband adoption.”
“Equally disturbing, Americans pay more for slower connection speeds than people in many other countries,” he added.
According to statistics provided by CWA 80 percent of households in Japan can connect to a fiber network at a speed of 100 megabits per second. This is 30 times the average speed of a US cable modem or DSL connection, at roughly the same cost.
Cohen pointed out that the average upload speed was in the US was only 371 kilobits per second, not nearly enough to send quality medical information over the Internet.
What should we do about this broadband problem in the U.S.” Consider the solutions offered in this well-reasoned article by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance: “Localizing the Internet: Five Ways Public Ownership Solves the U.S. Broadband Problem.” [2] Here are the basic points the long article makes:
1. High-speed information networks are essential public infrastructure.
2. Public ownership ensures competition.
3. Publicly owned networks can generate significant revenue.
4. Public ownership can ensure universal access and
5. Public ownership can ensure non-discriminatory networks [this refers to net neutrality [3]].
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