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CASE STUDY 4
GLOBAL BROADBAND ACCESS
All historical accounts agree that the Internet was birthed in the United
States. If this is true, does the U.S. continue to be the world foremost user
of the network that it created?
The answer to this question depends on how you look at the numbers.
According to the OECD (Organization of Economic Co-operation and
Development), the U.S. continues to be one of the world frontrunners in
both fixed and mobile broadband subscriptions for Internet access
[OECD11]. However, when viewed on a per capita or population percentage
basis, there is considerable evidence that the average citizen in many of
other highly developed nations around the world is more likely than the
average American to have broadband access to the Internet. Although more
than two-thirds of U.S. households have broadband Internet access,
America’s broadband penetration rate lags that for many other countries
[SALW12].
Recent research indicates that Bulgaria has the highest level of
broadband adoption; it has an adoption rate of 96 percent. South Korea
leads the world in average broadband connection speeds (16.7 Mbps).
Although 81% of the broadband connections in the U.S. had connection
speeds of 2 Mbps or more, 35 other countries had higher percentages in
2011. The U.S. is 13th place worldwide in average broadband connection
speeds [MALI12].
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On a per capita basis, as of January 2012, European nations led the
world in both fixed and mobile broadband adoption. At that time, twenty-six
of every hundred citizens (26%) in European Union (EU) nations had fixed
broadband connections while 54 of every 100 (54%) EU residents had a
mobile broadband connection [WEBS12]. The Netherlands led all countries
worldwide with 38.1 fixed broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants.
Switzerland and Denmark are not behind. South Korea led Asian nations in
fixed broadband connections with a 35.7% penetration rare. The US was
16th with a 27.6% fixed bandwidth penetration rate.
Mobile access to the Web continues to grow. At the beginning of 2012,
there were over 5.9 billion mobile subscribers worldwide [MOBI12]. Of
these, 1.2 billion were active users of mobile broadband services, according
to a 2011 survey performed on behalf of the (ITU) International
Telecommunications Union [WEBS12]. At that time, 90% of the world’s
population had access to second generation (2G) broadband, while 45% of
the world could access third generation (3G) services. In the U.S., there
were more than 203 million mobile broadband users in 2011 [OECD11].
India and China have the fastest growing populations of mobile users,
but South Korea and Japan have the highest percentages of mobile
broadband users with respective penetration rates of 91% and 88%
[MOBI12]. According to the OECD, the U.S. ranks seventh in mobile
broadband penetration with a rate of nearly 66% [OECD11].
In terms of broadband access speeds, cities in South Korea and Japan
dominate other population centers around the world. Although 23 U.S. cities
made it into the global top 100 list for broadband access speeds in 2011,
none made the top 10 [MALI12]. Citizens in the Romanian city of Timişoara
enjoyed the highest peak broadband access speeds at 41.5 Mbps.
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What do the Numbers Tell Us?
So what do all of these facts and figures tell us about broadband access in
the U.S.? Well, it is clear that we continue to be one of the global leaders in
broadband Internet connections. However, it is also apparent that citizens in
other countries can lay claim to being more “connected” to the Internet than
Americans, at least in terms of the percentage of the population with
broadband connections and average connection speeds. In terms of social
media use, however, the U.S. is still at or near the top [HUFF12].
Many reasons have been advanced for why multiple countries can claim
to be more “wired” and Internet-centric than the U.S. For example, in terms
of geographic size, countries like Japan, Singapore, and South Korea have
much smaller footprints than the U.S. for building out fiber optic and mobile
broadband infrastructure. The challenge in bringing this infrastructure to the
comparable percentages of the population in the U.S. is far greater.
Government supported national infrastructure initiatives have also
contributed to greater broadband pervasiveness in numerous countries.
These have enabled Japan, South Korea, and multiple EU nations to roll out
broadband infrastructure to most, or all, corners of their countries. Similar
initiatives have been proposed to bring broadband to the majority of citizens
in the U.S., including those in rural areas, but the legislation needed to make
this happen has languished in Washington, D.C. For mobile broadband, those
countries with the highest penetration rates typically have standardized on a
single multiple access protocol. The U.S., on the other hand, seems content
to let the market sort out which access protocol will dominate. As a result,
no single path forward for either 3G or 4G mobile broadband access has
been adopted and this helps explain why there are pockets of GSM, CSMA,
TDMA, OFDM, and LTE within the mobile broadband marketplace in the U.S.
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Why Aren’t U.S. Percentages Higher?
Multiple additional explanations have been provided for why the U.S. lags
other developed countries in broadband access penetration rates. The most
frequently mentioned reasons for why American households not adopting
broadband are summarized in Table C5.1. For some households,
affordability is the most important reason for not having broadband Internet
access. Both the cost of purchasing an acceptably powerful computer and
the recurring monthly subscription Internet access costs are frequently
mentioned as being important deterrents within households for which
affordability is an issue.
The most frequently reported reason for not adopting broadband is the
perception that broadband is not needed [SALW12]. The U.S. has a
significant percentage of its citizens who see little need and/or have little
interest in having high-speed Internet access. Such perceptions persist
among nearly 30% of the households in the U. S. The widespread nature of
such thinking has the potential to undermine government initiatives to
provide government subsidies for building out broadband networks across
the U.S. If potential subscribers do not see a benefit in having broadband
connections to the Internet, why should the government invest money to
make broadband networks accessible to them?
Table C5.1 Major Reasons for no Broadband in U.S. Households
• Lack of need or interest
• Affordability
• Lack of adequate computer
• Unavailability of broadband Internet service
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In the U.S., broadband Internet adoption and use varies across
demographic and geographic groups. Lower income families, people with less
education, those with disabilities, Blacks, Hispanics, and rural residents
generally lag U.S. averages for both broadband adoption and computer use.
Households with children in school, however, tend to have higher broadband
adoption and computer use rates than other households.
Internet access is a central focus of “digital divide” concerns within the
U.S. and across nations around the world. The populations that are most
likely to benefit most from Internet access are those that are least likely to
have it. The potential for digital “have not’s” to be left behind economically
still persists [ZICK12].
Broadband adoption rates around the world suggest that a compelling
case can be made that broadband can and does enhance people’s lives.
However, these have to be communicated to American households without
broadband in a convincing manner. In the U.S., half of the households
without broadband access express very little interest in getting it. These
Americans don’t go online because they do not perceive the Internet as
relevant to them [ZICK12]. Needless, to say, as long as such attitudes exist,
the U.S. will have a hard time catching up with the broadband adoption and
penetration rates that have been experienced by other countries around the
world.
Discussion Points
1. Do some Internet research on national infrastructure initiatives that
have contributed to expanded broadband infrastructure and access in
countries around the world. Identify several countries that have
benefitted from national broadband infrastructure initiatives and briefly
summarize the programs that they implemented.
2. Do some Internet research to on the current status of the National
Broadband Plan and other government-backed broadband access
expansion programs in the U.S. Briefly summarize the content of
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pending or recently passed legislation or executive initiatives to bring
broadband Internet access to more U.S. citizens.
3. Do some Internet research on the “digital divide” within the U.S.
Summarize which segments of the population are most at risk for being
digital “have nots”. Identify efforts being made to address the digital
divide within the U.S.
4. Do some research related to identify the countries that have the lowest
broadband and Internet access rates. What patterns can be observed
across these countries? How can these low rates be explained.
5. Do some Internet research on the benefits associated with high
broadband access connections? What do users like most about higher
connection speeds and how does it improve their lives?
Sources
[HUFF] Huffington Post Canada. “Most Wired Countries In The World:
Canada To Lose Top Social Media Spot This Year, eMarketer Says.” Retrieved
online at: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/02/29/social-media-rankingscanada_n_1311093.html#s741908&title=6_United_Kingdom
[MAKI12] Malik, O. “Global broadband zooms, U.S. penetration is over 80
percent.” Gigaom.com. Retrieved online at:
http://gigaom.com/broadband/global-broadband-zooms-us-penetration-isover-80-percent/.
[MOBI12] MobiThinking.com. “Global Mobile Statistics 2012: All quality
Mobile Marketing Research, Mobile Web Stats, Subscribers, Ad Revenue,
Usage, Trends….” Retrieved online at: http://mobithinking.com/mobilemarketing-tools/latest-mobile-stats.
[OECD11] OECD.org. “OECD Broadband Portal.” Retrieved online at:
http://www.oecd.org/document/54/0,3746,en_2649_34225_38690102_1_1
_1_1,00.html#Penetration.
[SALW12] Salway, D. “New Broadband Adoption Rate Study Released by
Department of Commerce.” About.com. Retrieved online at:
http://broadband.about.com/od/broadbandadoption/a/New-BroadbandAdoption-Rate-Study-Released-By-Department-Of-Commerce.htm
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[WEBS12] WebSiteOptimization.com. “1.2 Billion Active Mobile Broadband
Users – Europe Leads World in Broadband Penetration – December 2011
Bandwidth Report” Retrieved online at:
http://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw/1112/
[ZICK12] Zickuhur, K. and Smith, A. “Digital Differences.” Pew Internet.
Retrieved online at: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Digitaldifferences.aspx
