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new study from the New America Foundation suggests that the United States is lagging in the broadband speed race. The study compared high-speed Internet service in major cities around the world, and found that high-speed broadband service was dramatically more expensive and slower in the United States than in leading countries outside the United States. The authors blame these disappointing results on bad public policy.
International telecommunications comparisons are difficult, because broadband service is a complex, non-homogenous product. Broadband services can offer different speeds, data caps, prices, and reliability guarantees. Typical speeds may be much lower than average speeds, and some companies offer customers substantial discounts over their standard prices. And things get even more complicated when Internet access is bundled with telephone and television services.
