In a new policy brief, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation has analyzed the new OECD broadband adoption statistics and what they tell us about U.S. broadband performance. The brief, "U.S. Continues to Tread Water in Global Broadband Adoption" can be accessed by clicking on the link below.

Relative to other OECD nations the United States has made little progress in broadband adoption. In 2000 we ranked 4th among the 30 nations surveyed, behind Korea, Sweden and Canada. Now we are 12th, with our rank unchanged from December 2004.

America’s continued mediocre showing in broadband rankings matter. Nations that move to the front in terms of broadband adoption are more likely to reap a host of economic and social benefits.

The brief offers three straightforward recommendations for boosting U.S. broadband deployment and adoption. First, broadband should be exempt from local, state and federal taxes, including universal service taxes, for at least five years. Second, telecommunications companies seeking to roll out new broadband data/video networks should be subject to a significantly reduced number the number of franchise agreements and should not have “build-out” requirements placed on them. Finally, Congress should seriously consider boosting tax incentives for the deployment on new broadband networks.