USA - Benchmarking broadband in the USA

Synopsis

Archived report: this report was archived in December 2010 and has not been updated.

The USA , as many other countries, introduced economic stimulus packages in 2008/09 that include telecoms infrastructure. It has now been widely accepted that such investments should deliver economic multiplier effects; it should stimulate economic growth, e-business, e-health, tele-education, smart grids as well as high-speed Internet access. This can only happen when these investments are linked to business models based on an open wholesale network. The telco and cable monopolies and duopolies as they exist in America would likely stop any economic multiply effect. This reports uses Australia as a bench market, where the government launched a A$43 billion broadband stimulus package that would result in the development of an open network that will link 90% of all households to an FttH (Fibre-to-the-home) network.