The EU’s broadband challenge, part 1: Acknowledging the problem

[Commentary] As an American living in Europe, I chuckle when I read articles from the US that assert that broadband is better in the EU. I wonder what planet the journalist is writing about.

Indeed the European Commission and EU Vice President Neelie Kroes consistently point out that the EU is behind the USA on broadband among other fronts. The 2013 Digital Agenda Scorecard published by the European Commission notes that the USA accounts for 27 percent of the world’s total ICT spending. It is even more remarkable that the US, with just a fraction of the world’s Internet users, also accounts for a quarter of the world’s broadband infrastructure investment. The report also notes that the EU is not on track to reach its 2020 broadband goals of 100 percent of Europeans with a broadband connection of 30 Mbps. Indeed the European Commission knows that 15 of the world’s 25 top Internet companies are American and powered by America’s broadband networks. The EU can only boast one such company. Moreover, the EU Commission sees broadband as key for the digital economy, and wants to emulate America’s model.