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2008 International Broadband Rankings

Posted by kdawson on from the why-your-pipes-suck dept.

itif writes to let us know about a major new report, released yesterday by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, showing how the US and other countries compare in terms of broadband access, speed, and price. The rankings (PDF) place the US 15th, this country having fallen every year since 2001. Here's the full report (PDF). According to the report's executive summary: "The US broadband policy environment is characterized on the one hand by market fundamentalists who see little or no role for government, and see government as the problem; and on the other by digital populists who favor a vastly expanded role for government (including government ownership of networks and strict and comprehensive regulation, including mandatory unbundling of incumbent networks and strict net neutrality regulations) and who see big corporations providing broadband as a problem. Given the policy advocacy and advice they are getting, it is no wonder that Congress and the Administration have done so little."

4 of 198 comments (clear)

  1. Government provided broadband? by DrLang21 · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    I for one do not want the US government providing my broadband access. Consider that this administration has had to go out of its way to perform warrentless wiretapping, and this resulted in an open loop that was able to be leaked to the public. Can you imagine if the US government was in full control of all telecommunications? I doubt we would have even known about the wiretapping because there would be no middle man.

    --
    I see the glass as full with a FoS of 2.
    1. Re:Government provided broadband? by ShieldW0lf · · Score: 1, Offtopic

      Well, why don't you take responsibility for fixing your government so terrorists don't have to do it for you? It's your mess.

      --
      -1 Uncomfortable Truth
    2. Re:Government provided broadband? by mr_mischief · · Score: 1, Offtopic

      Yeah, they're "fixing our government"? Is that what you call killing 3000 innocent civilians in one day?

      Hamas, I guess, has done so much for the freedom and stability of Gaza? The Taleban was a giant hippie freedom lovefest in the park for Afghanistan? Somalia's better off because people are tortured and killed for having parents who don't bow their knee to the demands of bullies and tyrants?

      One major way people do take responsibility for fixing theirr governments is to limit the power of a government to do your people harm. That's exactly what DrLang21 was talking about doing. Keeping the government's hands out of as many things as possible and making them accountable to the people is a prerequisite to "fixing your government".

      Your hate-filled rant praising 19 mass murderers does nothing to improve anyone's life.

  2. Look at municipal access fees aka "kickbacks" by gelfling · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    For example Time Warner pays 15% of their net revenue back to the city of Cary, NC as an 'access fee'. This can only be described as a kickback, a bribe in exchange for monopoly access. And it's legal.