U.S. High Speed Net Adoption Ranks 15th Among Industrialized Nations

The national report is based on aggregated data from nearly 230,000 Internet users who took the online Speed Matters Speed Test. The survey measures the last-mile speed of a user's Internet connection and shows that the median real-time download speed in the U.S. is just 2.3 megabits per second.

The five fastest states based on median Internet download speeds according to the report are: Rhode Island (6.8 mbps); Delaware (6.7 mbps); New Jersey (5.8 mbps); Virginia (5.0 mbps); and Massachusetts (4.6 mbps). The bottom five states are: Idaho (1.3 mbps); Wyoming (1.3 mbps); Montana (1.3 mbps); North Dakota (1.2 mbps); and Alaska (0.8 mbps). Comparatively, estimates show average download speeds in Korea of 49 mbps and in France of 17 mbps.

In Japan, the average download speed is 63 mbps in Japan. At the present rate -- with the U.S. gaining only four-tenths of one megabit per second from last year -- it will take the U.S. more than 100 years to catch up with current Internet speeds in Japan, according to the study.

People in Japan can download an entire movie in just two minutes, but it can take two hours or more in the United States. Yet, the authors contend, the Japanese pay the same amount as Americans for their Internet connection.

While leisure Web activities may matter, the authors said that what's really important is that slow high speed Internet adoption will have a devastating impact on the U.S. economy.

"This isn't about how fast someone can download a full-length movie," said Larry Cohen, president, Communications Workers of America, in a statement. "Speed matters to our economy and our ability to remain competitive in a global marketplace. Rural development, telemedicine and distance learning all rely on truly high-speed, universal networks."

Not surprisingly, the study found that there is a significant digital divide in the U.S. Families in rural areas are much less likely to subscribe to broadband.

According to the survey, while 57 percent of urban households and 60 percent of suburban households subscribe to broadband, only 38 percent of rural households do. Similarly, even though 85 percent of Americans who earn over $100,000 a year have broadband, only 25 percent of households that earn less than $20,000 subscribe. Only about one-half -- 49 percent -- of middle-income families earning between $30,000 and $40,000 a year subscribe to broadband. In addition, about 15 percent of Americans still use dial-up to connect to the Internet.

In an attempt to remedy the troubling findings, in 2006 the CWA launched an organization, Speed Matters, in an effort to have politicians develop and pass a telecommunications policy.

"The test results demonstrate the critical need for the Senate to pass S. 1492, the Broadband Data Improvement Act, to move the U.S. toward a national broadband policy," the group said in a statement. "Earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed a similar measure, the Broadband Census of America Act, to support the collection of data about broadband deployment."

Additional recommendations by the group include initiating a national policy goal that would "construct an infrastructure with enough capacity for 10 mbps downstream and 1 mbps upstream by 2010."

Another suggestion is to add reforms to universal service subsidies that support voice telephony service, and include affordable, high-speed Internet for everyone. Another solution, according to the group is to expand public-private partnerships, which bring together state and local governments, telecommunications companies, schools and libraries to create state broadband maps and technology plans.

"We are the only industrialized nation without a national policy to promote universal, high-speed Internet accessand#8212;and it shows," said Cohen. "Most of our Speed Test users logged on with broadband connections such as DSL, cable modem or fiber. People with dial-up connections didn't take the test because it took them too long, so even these dismal statistics paint a rosier-than-reality picture of connection speeds across the country."