The perception that the Untied States
has the most advanced technology in the world is a lie. Compared to other
countries, we are so far behind that it looks like we’ve just given up
completely. While many Americans may be satisfied with the 2 GB data plan for
$25 a month right now, this will likely change once they are informed of how
much they’re over paying compared to other countries.
Japan broadband speeds almost 13
times stronger than the U.S.
The U.S. has embarrassingly low
broadband speeds compared to other countries like Japan, Korea, and France. Why
are our broadband speeds so slow when we have the greatest GDP in the world?
Unlike other nations, our existing broadband providers aren’t mandated to share
their networks with competitors causing slower speeds and unreliability. Another thing slowing us down is “the government not subsidizing the extension of
broadband to rural areas and inner cities that need it but can’t afford to
install the infrastructure.”
U.S. offers slower speeds with a
bigger price tag
Going back to Japan, they offer
broadband speeds at 63.6M bps at a relatively cheap rate of $.13 per megabit.
The United States on the other hand offers 4.9M bps at around $2.83 per
megabit. At this rate, if the United States had broadband speeds similar to
Japan, the rate would be about $36.29 per megabit for broadband speeds. That’s
$36.66 more than what Japan’s rate.
U.S. doesn't fall in top 10 of biggest networks
This table shows the largest networks worldwide based on the number of subscribers. As you can see, no United States networks are shown. The first United States network to be shown is Verizon Wireless, and it is only the 18th largest network.
U.S. policies slowing us down
While other countries have policies that promote competition and innovation, the United States has policies that promote a few carriers to dominate. "According to a study last year by Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society, 94% of South Korean households had land-line broadband service, compared with half in the USA. The Korean cities of Busan and Seoul had the world's fastest download times, while no American city finished in the top 20. Koreans also enjoyed better mobile broadband service. And in the case of both land line and mobile, Koreans generally paid less than Americans." The reason is because South Korea has made broadband a national priority. The vast amount of competition keeps the price down and the quality of service high. It's basic economy! If an average American were asked to list broadband networks available to them, they would probably only be able to list a few (AT&T, Verizon, and T-mobile). That's because there are only so many they can list. If the United States were to have policies that promoted competition and innovation like South Korea and many other countries, we wouldn't be ranked so low.
The United States is taking an enormous risk not doing anything about their lag behind other countries in mobile technologies. In such a technology driven world, doing so will make the United States much less competitive.
After I read this post, I was shocked. I could not believe that the United States’ mobile technologies were lacking so much. So, I decided to do a little bit of research to find out why this was occurring. After completing some research, I learned that about twelve western states have low or no broadband at all. It turns out that one of the main reasons for this is these states’ terrain. Mountains and trees restrict the building of broadband towers and also limit the signal power of the few towers that do exist. Unless engineers come up with a solution for these areas, America’s mobile technologies will not improve.
ReplyDeleteSource: http://www.helium.com/items/2368770-areas-in-the-us-still-lacking-broadband-services
As someone who follows technology closely, I already knew about this and therefore was not in shock like Seth. I do have some good news for you however, Google, in its continued attempt to take over the world has been working on Google fiber. Here is a link http://fiber.google.com/about . To briefly summarize Google fiber, it is Google's entry in to the broadband world. They will be offering speeds of up to 1 Gigabyte per second for uploads AND downloads it will clearly be a game changer in the United States. At this point I'm pretty sure that Google is partially doing this to embarrass companies such as Comcast and Verizon. When it comes to your point about America being more technologically advanced than any other country that's where I start to lose your argument. This is mainly because countries such as Japan and Korea have always been way ahead of the game when it comes to technology. Major technology companies such as Samsung, LG, Hitachi, and Sony all are from Asian countries. In that regard I do not completely follow your train of thought though I will say that I agree with your overarching point which is that the United States needs to introduce laws to increase competition in the market so that we do not fall too far behind other nations.
ReplyDeleteAs i was reading this i couldnt help but be shocked that we are noy leading in the technolgy catorgory because how much it is a big part of my life and other teenager. so i decided to do some reaserch on why are we lacking so much.The website http://thenextweb.com/us/2012/09/30/lacking-competition-government-infrastructure-investment-american-telcos-losing-edge/ show that we are struggling in the U.S. telecommunication industry is the lack of competition. the big comapny has all the power and no one is really competing with eachother.
ReplyDeleteThis, for the most part, did not come off as shocking to me. Asian countries such as Korea, China, and Japan have created some of the best technological products on the market right now. I think the main problem with the United States technology industry is the lack of competition. There is effectively an oligarchy in the phone industry and this small group has sought to maximize profit even if it means charging more for less of a service. An example of this would be the disappearance of unlimited data plans from major phone carriers. So the discrepancy in services offered in the United States compared to countries such as Japan is really not surprising.
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