[RTC List] U.S. Lags Behind Latvia in Broadband Speeds

[William Van Hefner]

I thought the headline was pretty amusing, if nothing else. Strangely
enough, 5.2MBps is almost exactly what I average on my ADSL line! I'm kind
of jealous of Latvia though. Isn't that where Dr. Doom in the comic books
is from?


U.S. Lags Behind Latvia in Broadband Speeds

Internet connection speeds are the modern day weather; conversations about
upload speeds are just as common as comments about last night's
thunderstorm. USA Today writes that a new report from the Communications
Workers of America (CWA) reveals that broadband speeds are significantly
faster in some areas than in others.

The average download speed for the U.S., reports CWA, is 5.2 megabits per
second, but that could be drastically slower depending on where you live.
Delaware has the fastest connection of any state, with an average of 9.9
megabits per second, while Alaska and Montana lag behind with a 2.3
average.

Why the vast difference? Much of it is due to the dispersed nature of the
physical infrastructure of the Internet in the U.S. Telecom companies have
consistently reserved faster speeds and better service for larger, more
populated areas.

In a worldwide comparison by Speedtest.net, which CWA cites in its study,
the U.S. (which averages 6.8 mbps in Speedtest's calculation) is the
slowest country of the 29 surveyed. That's right. Dead last. South Korea
is in the lead with a staggering 20.4 megabits per second, its average
citizen being able to download a full-length movie in a matter of seconds.
Japan and Sweden are also (unsurprisingly) better connected than us, and
even Latvia is twice as fast with an impressive 12.4 average.

According to USA Today, the FCC is developing a "national broadband
strategy," devoting $7 billion to encourage broadband expansion.



-- 
William Van Hefner - President
Vantek Communications, Inc.
e-mail: editor at humboldtonline.com
http://www.humboldtonline.com