The Global Broadband Adoption Gap Needs Greater Attention

[Commentary] While development organizations, nonprofit groups and some of our largest technology companies push for a global Internet, a tale of two cities highlights the difficulties inherent in getting a population to use services intended for their development (even if they’re free). The divergent paths of broadband adoption in Stockholm and New York highlight just how difficult getting local populations to move online can be.

The broadband adoption gap clearly continues to be both a marketplace and policy issue around the world. It underscores the need for more user-friendly devices and interfaces, along with more compelling content and apps. Hardware companies, venture firms and entrepreneurs have clear targets of opportunity in this realm. Government policymakers too often have viewed broadband adoption as an outcome of competition and pricing, developing new regulatory approaches designed to expand an often-ample supply pool. Like the private sector, they also would be well advised to bring the demand side of the broadband Internet equation into a much sharper focus.

[Brotman is a nonresident senior fellow in The Brookings Institution’s Center for Technology Innovation]