Broadband technologies continue to expand and grow around the world. Many Americans take for granted the reliability and power of all of the broadband provider’s services. Just because the United States has one of the largest Internet populations in the world does not mean it has the best broadband quality. Of course not all Internet providers in the United States are offering true broadband service and we as consumers need to look at what Internet service providers say they offer and compare it to the actual quality of service you get each month. Not all broadband is the same quality in various countries and that’s why the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) ranks and compares the quality of broadband around the globe. You would think that the United States would be on top when it comes to broadband quality, but in reality we are struggling to keep up with other countries. Unfortunately, there are some very distinct factors holding the United States back when it comes to broadband growth and quality. The government needs to adopt policies to push the growth and service of broadband nationwide, and many technology journalists have written about what exactly needs to be included in these policies. Let’s take a deep look at what broadband really means and clear up any myths that you surely have heard.
Broadband Internet services can have some very different definitions and meanings and it has created confusion among consumers, while at the same time creating myths throughout the industry. According to FCC, broadband is defined as, “Internet access that allows users to access the Internet and Internet-related services at significantly higher speeds than those available through “dial-up” Internet access services”. The main way we can determine if a service is offering broadband is to find out if you have to dial-in over the phone or not. If you have to tie up your phone line by dialing-in you aren’t using a broadband service. A broadband service allows you to keep your phone line free and it gives the user a continuous connection to the World Wide Web. Broadband is available through many different technologies such as cable modems, cellular broadband, Wi-Fi, and fiber optics just to name a few. The many services that are available can become quite confusing as to what works best for different user needs. One of the most popular ways to connect to a broadband Internet service is through a cable modem provided by your cable company. Not every cable company can afford to offer these broadband services, so we rely on many of the larger cable companies.
Comcast offers many different levels of broadband Internet services to millions of households across the United States. The flexibility of their service is that your broadband connection comes through coaxial cable just like your cable television does. Comcast offers customers a standard cable modem box, but you can purchase your own cable modem box as well instead of renting it from Comcast. Through this cable modem you can hook up a wireless router and create a home network so everyone in your house can take advantage of broadband internet. One of the main reasons people select a cable company to provide them with broadband is the fact that you can select many different broadband speeds. Being able to select the speed you need is very convenient for customers and it helps keep costs low for the broadband providers. Comcast for instance offers broadband speeds ranging anywhere from 1.5 Mbps all the way up to 105 Mbps. Cable modem based broadband services are not the only way to obtain a broadband connection.
One of the up and coming ways to connect to a broadband service is through cellular providers. There are a few ways you can go about doing this, but the smartphone revolution has already offered new ways to connect to broadband speeds on the go. Until 4G LTE came out on Verizon Wireless, it was nearly impossible to find a cellular provider that offered fast cable-like speed cellular broadband. With 4G LTE technologies we can obtain very fast connection speeds through devices like smartphones and mobile hotspot adapters. On many Verizon Wireless 4G LTE devices you can set up your own personal wireless hotspot which will allow you setup a network using your phones connection. It’s still a very new concept, but its flexibility is unmatched because you can set up a wireless network anywhere you have 4G LTE service. As Verizon Wireless’s 4G LTE rollout continues we believe that consumers may adopt this way of connecting to broadband services.
The ITIF, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation is a U.S. non-profit organization that focuses on technological policy; it has been referred to as a “Think Tank” for technology innovation. Their mission is to “promote new ways of thinking about technology-driven productivity, competitiveness, and globalization”. Every year, the ITIF uses data collected by the OECD, Organization of Economic Cooperation to calculate broadband technology for each country based on specific measures. From these calculations, the countries are then ranked. The measures used for rankings are: Household Penetration (subscribers per household), Speed, (Average download speed in Mbps) and Price, (Lowest monthly price per Mbps). The calculation process is very concise, considering many different factors. The rankings are a composite measure of the sum of standard deviation scores from the three indicators previously listed. Standard deviation is a measure of variability and it is used simply because it accounts for variation that may or may not exist from the average. As an example, a lower standard deviation score will represent data points that are close to the mean of the data. In contrast, a higher standard deviation represents data points that are strewn over a large amount of values, on both sides of the spectrum. When the standard deviation is taken from the data in each broadband indicator and added together, a good and even representation of data will be evident.
There are three different measures used to calculate broadband technology. In addition to the actual broadband adoption rate, speed and price prove to be very important measures to consider. For example, two countries may differ greatly in the amount of broadband subscribers. In 2006, Switzerland had 28.5 broadband subscribers per 100 people whereas Japan only had 20.2 subscribers out of a hundred (itif.org). At first glance, it seems as if Switzerland is prospering over Japan. However, 100 mbps fiber optic service is available at $27 dollars per month in Japan and users in Switzerland only have access to 2.4 mbps DSL at $52 per month (itif.org). Residents of Switzerland are paying a lot more money for slower connections. The second indicator is the speed of broadband downloads. This is difficult to judge because different countries operate with different connections and varying speeds. An average speed is composed for each country using the advertised download speeds from Internet providers. Speed is very important to consider because downloading an average sized file at 4 mbps may take 3 minutes in one country and 15 in the next. It all comes down to varying download speeds. The final measure is household penetration. The OCED organizes their household penetration rates per capita, however household adoption may be a more accurate indicator. For example, the average household size in Korea is 3.1 people whereas in Sweden the average size is 1.9 (itif.org). Varying household sizes results in different levels of broadband connections to achieve the same level of penetration. In Korea, if one person in the household was a broadband subscriber, that 1 connection will give 50% more people broadband connection than in Sweden (itif.org).
Within the actual ITIF report, there are many different tables ranking countries using broadband statistics. In June of 2011, the Netherlands came in first for the number of fixed broadband subscriptions with 38.5 subscribers per 100 people. The United States placed 14th with 27. 3 subscribers per 100 people. The broadband penetration in that same year reports the Netherlands still in the lead with 38.5 subscribers while the U.S moves down to 19th place with it’s 27.3 subscribers per 100 people. In June 2010, Netherlands once again tops the charts for fixed broadband penetration and density with 37.8 subscribers every 100 people and a population density of 405.1 (Inhab/km2). The U.S places at 18th with 27.1 subscribers and a population density of 32.8. When looking at broadband prices per megabits in September 2010, the U.S comes in at $2.00 while in 2008; the U.S was determined to be at $2.83. The U.S decreased prices in later years.
2010 Ranking and Comparison of U.S. Rankings in 2008 and 2010
1d: Fixed and wireless broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants (June 2011) – Actual Lines
1k: Broadband penetration and GDP (June 2011) – Actual Lines
3a: Fixed broadband penetration and density (June 2010) – Coverage and Geography
4d: Range of broadband prices per megabit per second of advertised speed – Prices
4e: Average monthly bit/data caps (Sept 2010) – Prices
4f: Average monthly subscription prices for connections below 2.5 Mbps (Sept 2010) – Prices
5a: Average advertised downloads speeds (Sept 2010) – Services and Speeds
5f: Fastest advertised connection offered by surveyed cable operators
When looking at the rather low broadband ranking of the United States it is important to note the different factors that come into play. The first important factor to look at is the fact that compared to other countries; the United States has a rather low population density. The convenience of supplying broadband to a densely populated urban area cannot be beaten. With all the rural areas of the United States it becomes much more inconvenient, and much more costly to supply broadband. Obviously this is a crucial part of why the United States would have such a low broadband ranking.
Another important factor to be looked at is the idea that market forces dictate the pace of broadband. This means that the United States simply does not need any more broadband then it has, and if they did they would push much harder for it elsewhere. This would mean that certain other countries have an unnecessary amount of broadband and are wasting their money on it. If it were a pressing enough issue and the majority of the U.S. was unhappy then something would be done. However, not enough Americans are worried about the supply of broadband let alone our rank on the broadband list.
The final factor to look at is error in measurement. The variable in question when talking about measurement error is broadband penetration on a per capita basis. Certain people think that on an absolute basis, the United States would be number one. They think it is unfair to compare countries of such different sizes. A mistake in the broadband penetration like this would definitely throw off the rankings for the United States.
Some policy suggestions that we can give to Congress to improve broadband situations in the U.S. is to try and start to have every major city offer a municipal WiFi network, and later branch it out to the suburbs and possibly rural areas of the U.S. This way everyone with access to a computer will have access to some sort of broadband. Since people see broadband and high-speed Internet as the new way of doing business effectively, the U.S. could make broadband access a public utility, just like water or electricity. This way more and more homes would have access to the Internet for their needs because in today’s world it is hard to live without Internet, just like it is hard to live without electricity.
In conclusion, broadband is a growing industry in the world and the U.S. needs to realize that it is not something we can take for granted anymore. With much of the U.S. trying to go “green”, people need access to high-speed Internet in their everyday lives, which is why this is so important. Most people think of the U.S. as the best place in the world in every category and they need to realize that the U.S. is beat in some categories, such as broadband. This is why Congress needs to take an active role in this to make sure we get back into the game and are able to compete with other countries. We may never be ranked #1 in broadband, but it’s vital that we get broadband quickly to the millions of Americans who don’t have access each day.
