NAF’s broadband analysis blunder: Shaky methodology and cherry-picked data distort the results

[Commentary] The New America Foundation just published its third annual Cost of Connectivity report, a so-called “consumer-focused” survey of broadband prices and speeds in 24 cities around the world.

My review of last year’s edition noted a number of troubling issues, including listing operators in cities they did not serve, printing standalone broadband prices where the offer required a bundle purchase (fortunately disclosed in this year’s report), and failing to account for taxes and other mandatory fees on top of advertised prices. This year’s edition criticizes other independent broadband reports (including mine), but noticeably absent is a mention of AEI’s Richard Bennett, whose assiduous assessments of international broadband comparisons over the years remain essentially bulletproof.

[Layton studies Internet economics at the Center for Communication, Media, and Information Technologies (CMI) at Aalborg University]