While we complain that some broadband speeds in the UK are “slow” it could soon get much worse for US broadband users amid news that US broadband providers are looking to influence the government’s definition of “broadband”. The UK authorities have promised to introduce broadband speeds of no less than 2 Mb per second to the UK by 2012 which compares very favourably with the US situation.
At the moment US broadband speeds are anything from 768 kb per second upwards although the Obama administration is looking to increase this minimum rate. However, the likes of AT&T and Verizon are lobbying the government to retain the current minimum download speed which is less than half that which will be available in the UK by 2012. So what is happening to the US broadband sector?
The problem yet again is one of cost with US broadband providers unwilling or unable at this moment in time to invest significant funds into the system. Yet again they are looking to the US government for help and by tagging the lower speeds this will mean more providers will ultimately qualify for government financial assistance in due course. The subject of cost is also one which is set to hit the UK broadband sector in years to come with the government looking to introduce a levy on all broadband users, while the industry appears to be against this particular strategy.