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New Insightful Wallsten International Broadband Comparisons Report

Scott Wallsten of the Technology Policy Institute issued an informative and insightful report on the many international broadband measures out there; I recommend reading it if you are interested in the subject. 

I particularly liked the new data on how broadband is used that shows that the U.S. has the highest:

  • Digital share of recorded music sales of surveyed OECD nations;
  • Sales of online films; and 
  • Online TV and video revenue per head. 

I liked these new measures because they begin to expand this discussion to how broadband is used and how people benefit from broadband rather than just a sterile and not very useful debate over broadband penetration.

  • Broadband is a means not an end. 
  • What it enables is what is important.  

Scott's report does a very good job at showing the vast richness of different ways international broadband comparisons can be made. It adds a lot of value to the ongoing debate over where the U.S. stands internationally on broadband.