President-elect Obama is calling for a massive $850 billion or more economic stimulus package to jump start the US economy and rebuild neglected infrastructure. As part of this plan the Obama administration has pledged to deploy next-generation broadband to every community in America. What the new administration has not offered is more specifics on their plan to achieve broadband for all. The Free Press has put forth a $44 billion plan to achieve universal broadband availability for the United States.
The Bandwidth Report Category: Greece
UK to pass Canada in Broadband Penetration in 2008 – US Broadband Penetration Grows to 91.8% among Active Internet Users – October 2008 Bandwidth Report
The UK will pass Canada in broadband penetration for the top spot among G7 countries in 2008. The UK’s higher growth rate will propel them past Canada in late 2008, according to projections by Website Optimization. While the US showed a higher growth rate in year over year broadband uptake, it remains in 15th place worldwide in broadband penetration. Japan and Korea now have more broadband subscribers on fiber than on DSL or cable. Among active Internet users, broadband penetration in the US grew to 91.8% in September 2008, up 0.26 percentage points over last month.
US Broadband Penetration Growth Drops to 17th Worldwide – US Broadband Uptake Grows to 89.3% among Active Internet Users – May 2008 Bandwidth Report
US broadband penetration growth dropped from 15th to 17th place worldwide, from June 2007 to December 2007. Overall, US broadband penetration remained at 15th place among all countries surveyed, according to the OECD. The slower growth of US broadband appears to be due to a lack of choice for consumers, an overreliance on cable, and low DSL and fiber penetration. Meanwhile, US broadband penetration rose 0.43 percentage points to 89.3% among active Internet users.
Broadband Achieves Majority Fastest – Iceland Leads EU27 in Broadband Penetration Rankings – US Broadband Uptake Grows to 86.3% Among Active Internet Users – December 2007 Bandwidth Report
Faster than any other consumer technology, broadband achieved more than 50% adoption according to Pew Internet. Iceland leads the EU27 in household broadband penetration, according to a survey by EUROSTAT. Among active Internet users, broadband grew to 86.3% in November 2007.
Japanese Broadband World’s Fastest, Cheapest – Iceland Cools off in Global Broadband Penetration Rankings – US Broadband Penetration Grows to 85.9% Among Active Internet Users – November 2007 Bandwidth Report
Japan has the fastest broadband speeds and the lowest cost per megabit per second of all countries surveyed, according to recent data from the OECD (see Figures 1-3). Japan enjoys costs per megabit over four times lower than that of the US. Iceland fell three places from third to sixth in global broadband penetration from Q4 2006 to Q2 2007, while the US remained at 15th place (see Figure 4). Ireland led all countries in net growth of broadband penetration per 100 inhabitants (see Figure 5). Meanwhile, in the US broadband penetration grew to 85.91% among active Internet users, up 0.6 percentage points over September 2007.
Western Europe Leads North America in Broadband Growth – US Broadband Penetration Grows to 85.3% Among Active Internet Users – October 2007 Bandwidth Report
Countries in Western Europe are growing at a faster pace in broadband subscribers than the US and Canada. Confirming the broadband trend from last month’s report Western European countries are adding subscribers at faster rate than North America, according to a recent report by Point Topic. Meanwhile in the US, broadband penetration grew 0.56 percentage points to 85.31% among active Internet users in September 2007.
Europe Passes US in Broadband Penetration – US Broadband Uptake Grows to 84.8% Among Active Internet Users – September 2007 Bandwidth Report
Broadband penetration in the EU is now on par with the US and Japan, according to a bi-annual broadband survey from the European Competitive Telecommunications Association (ECTA). ECTA attributes the 16% growth in broadband lines over the last six months to increased competition from new telecom entrants employing local loop unbundling and cable. Meanwhile in the US, broadband penetration jumped 1.32 percentage points to 84.75% among active Internet users in August 2007.
US Falls to 25th in Broadband Penetration Worldwide – US Broadband Growth Below OECD Average – April 2007 Bandwidth Report
The US fell from 23rd to 25th place in worldwide broadband penetration in the last half of 2006, according to a recent survey by Point Topic. OECD data confirms the slowdown, with the US falling to 15th in broadband penetration among OECD countries surveyed. US broadband penetration grew 0.65 percentage points to 80.81% among active Internet users in March.
iTunes Popularity to Surpass RealPlayer in 2007 – European Broadband Growth Slows – US Broadband Penetration Grows to 79.1% Among Active Internet Users – February 2007 Bandwidth Report
Users of iTunes grew by 47.5% over the past year, while the other streaming media players had single-digit growth. At current growth rates iTunes users will exceed RealPlayer users by the second quarter of 2007 (see Figure 1). European broadband growth has decreased in recent months. US broadband growth slowed a bit in January, growing by 0.62% percentage points to 79.1% among active Internet users.
UK Passes Japan in Broadband Penetration – US Broadband Penetration Slows to 76.6% Among Active Internet Users – November 2006 Bandwidth Report
The UK passed Japan and the US in broadband penetration in the first quarter of 2006 (see Figure 1). Among G7 countries, only Canada had a higher broadband penetration rate, according to a recent broadband survey by OECD. The UK’s faster growth rate, over twice that of Japan, propelled it past Japan around March of 2006 (see Figure 2). Meanwhile in the US, broadband growth slowed in October, growing only 0.27% percentage points to 76.6% among active Internet users over the past month.