04/21/10
Lack of competition slows down U.S. broadband
The primary criticism of the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Plan is that it does not adequately call for an increase in provider competition that countries with faster broadband speeds enjoy, according to CNN.
Fifty percent of Americans that live in rural regions do not have broadband access. Meanwhile 68 percent of the nation does use broadband internet at home. The news provider points to lower education and income levels as one of the driving factors.
South Korea has the fastest broadband of any country, and web users in the nation also pay about $17 less on their monthly bills than Americans. CNN reports that the difference between South Korea and the U.S. is the amount of reliable broadband providers. For Americans, it's either a telephone company or a cable provider. In nations like South Korea, consumers can choose from dozens of providers that have to lower their rates without diminishing their speed to compete in the market.
"[The United States] probably won't ever be South Korea. The whole political and social climate is so different, the geography is different, the history is so different. It's all pretty different," Robert Farris, director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, told the news provider.
Despite the differing speeds, the U.S. and South Korea are world leaders in internet use and growth in the last decade. The U.S. experienced growth in web use of nearly 140 percent, while South Korea saw expansion of nearly 97 percent, according to WorldInternetStats.com.
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