Strategy Analytics: US Ranks 23rd in Broadband

BOSTON – The United States still trails much of the world in broadband development, ranking 23rd on the list of the top 57 countries, according to rankings released this week by analyst firm Strategy Analytics. South Korea retains the title of the world’s most advanced broadband market, with Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Japan rounding out the top five slots.

The rankings are the result of Strategy Analytics' new broadband measurement tool - the “Broadband Composite Index” (BCI), which scores the broadband development of 57 countries in five categories, including household penetration, speed, affordability, value for money and urbanicity. The resulting overall score provides a more balanced and robust view of broadband development, according to the firm.

“The traditional single-metric approach of looking at broadband is becoming less relevant,” says Ben Piper, director of the Strategy Analytics Multiplay Market Dynamics service and author of the report. “We feel confident that our multifactor index is a superior indicator of a country’s relative broadband advancement.”

The United States, which placed 23rd on the list, trailed the rankings in a number of the five index components. Piper says the lack of competition is to blame for the high prices and low average speeds in the United States.

“With essentially zero intraplatform competition, U.S. service providers have little incentive to innovate offerings or differentiate beyond par,” says Piper.

In addition to defining and exploring each of the five metrics in detail, the report, Global Broadband Scorecard: 2010 Broadband Composite Index (BCI) Rankings, calculates and ranks the BCI for 57 countries and provides associated analysis of the drivers behind the rankings.