Innovation, Investment, and Competition in Broadband and the Impact on America’s Digital Economy

How true are fears that the United States is falling behind the rest of the world when it comes to broadband? Are Americans paying more for lower-quality broadband than Europeans and South Koreans, and are US companies falling behind their global counterparts?

A survey of broadband in America and broadband costs around the world finds that the United States is a global leader in broadband, as measured by the level of broadband-enabled economic activity, the number of Internet-based companies, the level of digital exports, and the level of Internet-enabled employment.

[Layton is a PhD Fellow for the Center for Communication, Media and Information Studies at Aalborg University; Horney is an alumnus of the Mercatus Center MA Fellowship at George Mason University]