Internet Just Not Fast Enough?

When it comes to technology, the USA would seem to be a world leader.  We have iconic tech companies like Apple, Intel and Microsoft.  People both young and old, rich and poor, rural and urban regularly use the latest smartphones, tablets and GPS devices.  Even our cars are replete with every new digital device known to man.  We have access to hundreds of channels of television in our homes and in our palms.  Indeed, the USA is a leader in the development of these new technologies.  But we are significantly behind the rest of the world in the state of the networks that link all of these devices and services together.

The Global Internet Report issued in early 2014 shows the USA 30th in the average network download speeds available to consumers.  Hong Kong leads the world having average internet access of almost 60 megabits per second.  This is more than 3x the average speed available in the USA.  Ahead of the United States are large counties like France, United Kingdom and Russia, as well as smaller states like Estonia, Iceland and Ukraine.

How can it be that the country that wrote the book on the Internet, the PC and the smartphone can lag behind on such a basic necessity of digital life in the 21st century?  The answer is a bit complicated.

First of all, the networks that serve the US have been around for decades.  That means that while they are ubiquitous and reliable, they are also old.  Also, many of the networks we use for getting on to the Internet were not initially designed for that purpose.  Many of us still get our Internet connection from the local cable company, whose networks were designed to deliver TV content—not bi-directional high-speed data.

The Comcasts, Time Warners and AT&Ts of the world have invested billions of dollars building out these networks.  They would much rather reap the profits than invest in new expensive higher speed networks.  There is no competition from others with better service because they are the only game in town. .

Thirdly, in most of the rest of the world the networks are operated by the government.  The networks are considered the same as any public resources like roads, water, sanitation and electricity.  As such there is not a requirement to make a profit.

As more of us Americans use the Internet and the networks that connect us to it for services aimed at both leisure and business, the current speeds available are going to pose a real impediment.  A combination of the public and private sectors will be forced to address the issue.

  

You might be interested in the speed you have at your home. Just point your browser to www.speedtest.netand find out.  Then compare the results with the average speed in Romania.