Fergie's Tech Blog

OECD: U.S. Sinks to 15th Place Worldwide in Broadband

Jacqueline Emigh writes on BetaNews:

In broadband access, the United States has now slipped from twelfth to fifteen place versus other countries, according to new research released this week by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The OECD study points to factors ranging from pricing to download speeds as possible reasons why the US may be losing ground, at least compared against other countries. Unlike some other broadband studies, which compare access rates across wider numbers of countries, the OECD research looks only at penetration rates among its own 30 member nations.

The US actually placed first in terms of total numbers of broadband subscribers. But the OECD's penetration rates are based on numbers of broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants.

By these statistics, the US has continued a comparative slide for the past six years, ranking in fourth place in 2001, twelfth place in 2006, and now, according to the OECD's latest figures, fifteenth place by the end of 2007.

posted by Fergie @ 5/21/2008 02:35:00 PM